Marrying Snape
by mypseudonym
Summary: MLC fic.Hermione falls victim to the Marriage Law in her seventh year of school, but things are not as they seem. FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

MARRYING SNAPE- by mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Absolutely none of the characters in this chapter are mine. These are Rowling's characters, and she is kind enough not to sue the pants off of me for playing with them. The only thing I've created here is the Wizarding Parliament, and only because I think the Wizengamot acts more like a high court than a Parliament

AN: This fic is inspired by blackwolf009's "LADFFAL (Live and Die for Family and Love)." Note that I said 'inspired by'. It doesn't parallel much at all, but her fic helped me with the fluffy white tail of the plot bunny. Now, enough of this boring nonsense, on with the main event!

CHAPTER 1

The headline about the newly passed Marriage Law was not on the front page of The Daily Prophet, as it probably deserved. The article was in the bottom corner of page 6, begging that no one notice it until it was too late to do anything about it. This, however, didn't stop Hermione Granger from noticing it as she poured over her copy of the paper during breakfast. Years of studying the daily paper had told her that the most important news of the day would NEVER make the front page.

It was the beginning of the Golden Trio's seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gone were their childish tendencies. These days, all three of them ate, slept, and breathed the war. Harry and Ron had even stopped loving quidditch. There was nothing about quidditch to help them in the war, except maybe dodging bludgers. Anyway, Hermione had been following the Marriage Law since it was first brought before Wizarding Parliament. This was her first task as a fully-fledged Order member. The three of them had been given low-key assignments that didn't involve any possibility of violence after their induction the previous year. Albus had been reluctant to initiate them, but the war made it so that everyone had to be prepared. Hermione's job was to keep track of the actions of the Wizarding Parliament and the Wizengamot. Twice a month, more often if necessary, she reported to Dumbledore. He helped her sort out what was truly important so that she could share her information at the next Order meeting without stretching the meeting indefinitely, or losing her head to Professor Snape. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to every meeting that they could, but Headmaster Dumbledore frequently reminded them that they were students first and warriors second. He refused to allow them to attend meetings when they should be in class or when it would be nearly impossible to sneak them out of the castle. He justified it to the young Order members as a precaution, because it would be highly suspicious if the three of them kept missing classes, meals, Quidditch games, and other activities.

From the meetings that she had attended, Hermione knew what to look for when she read the paper. She read reports of every meeting and session of the Wizarding World's judicial and legislative bodies. She attended some of them as well, under the ruse that she was considering a career in politics and wanted to see the inner workings of her new world at it's best. She wiggled her way into many places in the Ministry where she wasn't supposed to be simply by manipulating frustrated old men, fluffing egos, and sucking up where ever she could. She knew all those men and women looked at her smiling face, bright eyes, and big note pad and thought 'How much harm could this innocent little girl do?' The truth was, of course, that this innocent little girl could do a LOT of harm. She had become a published political analyst, under a pseudonym of course. Marilyn Fitzwalters, alter ego of Hermione Granger, could do many things. She was turning heads in the Wizarding World with her keen sense for character and ability to sniff out lies and foul play. She was well versed in the history of the legislature and the backgrounds of many key members. She made conjectures that the most experience political analysts had only begun to examine. The Daily Prophet had offered her a weekly column on several occasions. Hermione always turned them down, knowing that one or two columns a month was all she could manage while still keeping up on her homework. Newspapers worldwide published her essays when she wrote them. She wondered how the world would react if they knew that Marilyn Fitzwalters was an eighteen-year-old girl still in school.

The Marriage Law had interested Hermione on a couple of levels. For one, she was of an age where she could be affected by the law, if she were chosen as one of the first candidates to go through the process. If chosen, she would be assigned to a pure blooded family and be bound to the family member of their choice. The only qualification for the pure blood was that he must be in the age range where he was currently or would soon be able to produce offspring with the muggle-born selected for the family. For two, Hermione had long suspected that Lord Voldemort had a hand in Wizarding politics. All she had to do for the Order was to find out what name that hand or those fingers went by. She quickly deduced who the key players were in the political game and began diagrams showing each one's sphere of influence, simply by noting who talked to whom in recesses and how the votes came through. Over time, her original lists had been transformed into elaborate tree diagrams, heading in big names like Lucius Malfoy. When the marriage law had been proposed, Hermione found the speaker's name on her diagram and placed a star beside that. This idea had Voldemort written all over it. She took note of everyone who seemed to be in favor of or leaning toward the marriage law. It seemed to Hermione that she was missing one key player. There was someone who sphere of influence stretched far beyond the ones she recorded. Hermione sincerely hoped that the missing player was not Voldemort himself. Hermione could clearly see that the law was an attempt by the dark to divest the light of some of its best female leaders while not hurting the Death Eaters. She suspected that the list of families desiring a mate would be largely composed of Death Eater families and those that vocally supported Voldemort. Hermione initially dreaded herself and many of her friends becoming whores and punching bags to Pureblood families, but that was at the beginning of last year. So much had changed since then. The war aged people quickly, and Hermione now thought of the cause more than herself. Now she dreaded not being able to continue her work and fight the encroaching darkness.

"Hermione, what's wrong with you? You've been staring at that page for twenty minutes now." Ron said, interrupting her train of thought.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about this new law that just passed. I'll tell you both about it later." She responded, effectively ending any hope of conversation about that particular topic. She put down the paper and nibbled on her dry toast.

Classes had become something that the trio did mechanically. They no longer saw the need to learn things that would not directly help them during the war. Classes still went well enough for Hermione, but they weren't as enjoyable as they once were. The only things she enjoyed these days were physical training, politics, and the few hours of restful sleep she got each night. The trio had taken to training at the beginning of sixth year, using the Room of Requirement as their studio. They learned weaponry and magical defense as well as a bit of darker magic. They sparred regularly at the end of the day, all in utter secrecy. All of the other students knew now that they should not concern themselves with what Harry Potter and his friends were doing. Following them had resulted in long visits to the hospital wing for all involved. Those sent there weren't stupid enough to admit that two prefects and Harry Potter had put them there. The only training that they did where others could see was running. Hermione had become a running addict. Ron dreaded their tri-weekly runs and complained the whole time. Harry ran his regulation amount and stopped. Only Hermione ran every day for strength and speed. Some days, she ran simply to sort out her thoughts and emotions. She found that she could think easier when she ran. On those runs, Hermione would often run 15 or 20 miles around campus without really noticing.

The day when she got her letter was a time for one of those runs. It was a Saturday in October, so it was some time before anyone found her. The letter came after lunch and Hermione took off on her run with the letter clutched in her hand. She told the boys she was going to the library, but that didn't matter now. Everyone had become accustomed to her running addiction and thought nothing of it. Only the faithful Headmaster drew attention to her.

"Severus, Minerva, I'm enlisting you both to help a student in need right now." Albus said somberly from behind his desk. The Potions Master and Deputy Headmistress looked at him questioningly.

"Who? What's the story here, Albus?" Minerva asked.

"I believe the first of the Marriage Law letters came today, and I believe Miss Granger got one. Likely, she needs some counseling." He stated.

"My apologies Headmaster, but I fail to see why both of us are required for this task. I've many things I'd rather be doing and places I'd rather be than here, coddling the little chit." Severus sneered.

"You are both needed, just for different things. Minerva will talk to the girl, as she's a Gryffindor. I'm afraid you, Severus, may be the only one here who is able to catch her before she hurts herself. I'd ask one of her friend, but I doubt Mister Potter or Mister Weasley has enough strength of character to make her come back."

"Come back? Albus, has she run away?" Minerva asked, panicked.

"Now, she wouldn't be that careless. She hasn't set one foot off campus, but she's been moving all day. She's running Severus."

"How long?" the Potions Master asked, now serious.

"Since just after lunch. I thought for sure she'd come in for dinner, but that obviously wasn't the case. She usually doesn't stay out this long." Albus said sadly. He crossed to the window and lead Severus to see the tiny speck quickly crossing the west side of campus as the sun set around her.

"Wait, usually? You mean she has done this before?" the Potions Master asked, his anger renewed and redirected.

"On and off since last spring. I let her run because she always stops. It wasn't affecting her grades or her health, so I had no authority to stop her." Albus said. Severus and Minerva readied themselves for battle with Miss Granger. Severus flooed to the dungeons to put on clothing more suitable for running. He left Minerva waiting at the main entrance. Poppy was at the ready in the Hospital Wing with an arsenal of medical potions in the event that they found her worse than they expected.

Severus sprinted until he caught sight of Hermione. He slowed slightly to keep pace behind her and observe her. The girl was still going at a fast pace, despite the long distance of her trek. She was dressed like him in Muggle swish pants, a Muggle T-shirt, and cross trainers. In one hand, she gripped her wand tightly, her knuckles white. From time to time, angry sparks would shoot from it. In her other hand, Severus noted a crumpled scrap of paper that was clearly the reason they were running. She ran mechanically, as though her mind wasn't really in her body and he watched a shell of Hermione Granger. The middle aged Potions Master sped up a bit to close the gap between then so that he could try to call her back into her body. Stretching his legs felt good, but he was getting tired of this game. In one second, Severus watched Hermione's body trip on a tree root and crash into the earth. She made a couple of feeble attempts to get up before submitting to lie there. Severus stood beside her, wondering if he should summon Madam Pomfrey to the site when the girl's sob filled his ears. He sat down beside her and gathered her into his arms. Severus counted himself lucky that no one could see him here, coddling a student in the darkness. She clung to him desperately, sobbing into his shirt until it was wet from tears instead of just sweat. He stood and braced himself to lift the girl. He greatly overestimated her weight and ended up nearly throwing her in the air. She was much to light for her age. He walked back to the school to find Minerva in the entry way, waiting for instructions.

"Go get a calming draught and two restorative potions from Poppy. Meet us in the Room of Requirement." he ordered. He knew that she should be the one giving the orders, but fetching the student in question kind of put him in control of the situation. Severus entered the Room of Requirement thinking of a quiet and restful place. Somehow, he felt like Hermione was making her own requests for where she wanted to be. Somewhere safe. He walked into a room that looked half like his study and half like something very very different. He placed Hermione on a long black leather couch and sat down in a nearby rocking chair.

Minerva came in a Severus coaxed Hermione to swallow the potions, saving one restorative potion for himself. The girl was so exhausted that she looked nearly asleep.

"Now let's just see what's on this paper that made Miss Granger so upset." Minerva said as she saw Hermione's grip on the paper relax some. She tried to remove the paper from Miss Granger's hand. Before Severus could warn her, Hermione was wide awake with her letter clutched tightly in her hand and her wand at Minerva's throat. Minerva was wide-eyed and holding her breath. Hermione's eyes were slightly glazed over and she breathed heavily as though psyching herself up for the attack.

"Minerva what were you thinking? You NEVER try to touch someone whose behavior is unpredictable. Miss Granger is tired and scared. She doesn't want you to take that from her." Severus scolded as her pulled his colleague backward, slowing and carefully. Miss Granger folded herself back into a sleeping position once they moved a few feet away.

"Well, I wasn't thinking that Hermione Granger would attack me." Minerva answered nervously. She was badly shaken from the scare.

"That's not Miss Granger. The girl you know if hidden somewhere deep inside of her. That is a scared and potentially dangerous young lady whose life may just have left her control. She's not going to relinquish that letter to anyone, at least not in this state. It's best to leave her alone for awhile." Severus lectured gravely.

"What do we do?"

"You will report to the Headmaster and go to bed. I'll stay here and keep watch over her tonight." Severus answered. He pushed the Deputy Headmistress lightly out the door.

AN: Well, there you go, chapter one. This was actually one of the shorter chapters, so I'm going to try to cut the later ones down some. I've got this story written to chapter eight right now, but I'm going to have to break down some of the longer chapters into two or three chapters. Well, let me know what you think. Feedback and constructive criticism are welcomed. I know I started out kinda slow, but it gets interesting. Hang in there with me.


	2. Chapter 2

MARRYING SNAPE- by mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Still not mine, though I'm not sure I'd like the responsibility of taking care of them. I'm just test driving. Snape's family is all mine, but that is all.

AN: I was so excited to get noticed so quickly that I decided to go ahead and work on getting the second chapter of here. So, here you go!

Chapter 2

Hermione awoke the next morning on a strange couch in a strange room. One wall was decorated with her weapons from the training room. She knew they were hers by the arrangement, if not the small HJG plaque near the ceiling. There was a crackling magical fireplace on the opposite wall and a large oriental rug in the center of the room. Hermione sat up and noticed she was resting on a large black leather couch. Her Manchester United afghan was wrapped around her. A soft, low snore alerted Hermione to the fact that she was not alone. Professor Snape was stretched out in a rocking chair. He was dressed strangely, at least for him, in running clothes just as she was.

Hermione felt like she hit a brick wall as the events of the previous day hit her like a crushing boulder. She didn't cry, for she had no tears left to cry, no fits left to pitch, and no energy left to run. The long distance emotional running was a dumb idea, she knew. Now she would be drained for days because she refused to see Madam Pomfrey and be subjected to a full exam and lots of nosy questions, as well as more poking and prodding than she could handle today.

'Snape's the Potions Master, perhaps he can hook me up with something.' Hermione thought slyly. She stared at her sleeping professor willing him to wake up. After a moment, he choked slightly and awoke.

"Miss Granger, you're awake." He gasped, surprised to turn and find her staring at him.

"An astute observation, professor. How ever did you ascertain that?" the retorted, flicking her barbed tongue and rolling her eyes. She was in no mood to be polite, consequences be damned.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, getting up slowly. She wondered if he even noticed her sarcasm.

"Tired, fogged over, but otherwise fine." She answered honestly, stretching her aching legs.

"Well, allow me to send for Professor McGonagall. I believe she wanted the honor of talking to you." he dodged, moving toward the fireplace.

"Frankly, Professor Snape, I'd rather talk to you if I have to talk to someone." she responded, effectively stopping the man in his tracks.

"May I ask why, Miss Granger?" he asked, confused. No one but the Slytherins had ever actually wanted to talk to him over any other faculty member.

"Well, sir, you are more involved in this than any of the others. You will be honest with me, brutally honest. I'm not in the mood to sugarcoat things for me and tell me everything is going to be okay. I also know that you understand that sometimes people need to use…less than stellar vocabulary to get their point across. I doubt you have some crazy mental picture of me that will be utterly destroyed if I should happen to curse lightly." She responded. He moved nearer to her and slowly sat on the other end of the couch.

"Fine with me. Why did you run yesterday?" he asked. Hermione curled up at the other end of the couch, taking a very defensive posture.

"Well, it depends on which run you're talking about. I ran in the morning for exercise and in the afternoon because of this letter." She said, holding out the letter. Severus began to reach for it, but he remembered what she nearly did to Minerva. "Take it, read it. You will understand." She said, waving the letter at him. Snape reached toward it slowly, but snatched it out of her hand with lightening speed. The letter was crinkled from force and dried sweat, but he could still read it. He scanned the beginning of the letter.

"So you've fallen victim to this Marriage Law. While unfortunate for you, I fail to see how this pertains to me." he said.

"Just keep reading." the girl said quietly, looking down at her hands. Severus read more and gasped. She was to be sent to his family. "Yeah, that's why."

"Miss Granger, I don't quite know what to say." Hogwarts' most intimidating professor admitted.

"You could start by calling me Hermione. If we must be married, I'd like to be addressed by my first name." she said stubbornly. That's when Professor Snape did one thing that she never ever suspected he would do. The man laughed.

"You thought you'd be marrying me? Hermione, I'm already quite happily married. You'll be marrying my brother." he said.

"You have a brother?" Hermione asked, trying to picture her professor with an older and a younger version of himself. Was his brother older or younger? She desperately hoped it was a younger brother; Professor Snape seemed old enough to be her father, if not older, given the way wizard's age.

"Yes, would you care to relocate to my study? I can show you more of the family there." He asked. He had never taken anyone into his private apartment before, but these were special circumstances.

"Okay." she said, moving to get off the couch. "You wouldn't happen to have some pepper-up potion lying around would you?" she asked, shakily getting off the couch. Her worn legs felt like jello and collapsed underneath her.

"Hermione, look what you've done to yourself." he said with a mixture of compassion and willed gruffness.

"I'll be fine, sir. I just need some pepper-up potion." she said, too tired to fight him as he picked her up.

"I have something you can take in my rooms, but I keep all my potions stored safely and properly, Miss Granger. They do not lie around, as you would be so inclined to believe." he said.

"It's an expression, professor. D you make a habit of carrying students about?" she asked.

"Never, but you weigh no more than my daughter and she has a bad habit of falling asleep in the library at home." he explained, crossing over to the fireplace. "Snape quarters" he directed, stepping in. They stepped out gracefully in a room that looked a lot like the one they'd just left. Hermione was deposited on an identical black leather couch. Severus disappeared for a moment, coming back with two vials and a large photo album. He sat beside her on the couch a moment later and passed her two vials, both of which she drank without hesitation.

"Professor, what were those?" she asked curiously, noticing that neither of them were the pepper-up potion she requested.

"First of all, call me Severus when we're alone. You're going to be family after all. I gave you a strengthening draught and a potion of my own creation which will clear the lactic acid from your muscles. It will help with the soreness.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'll give you a pepper-up potion before you leave if you still want it." he said, clutching a book.

"So what's in the book?" she asked. He looked confused for a second before remembering the album and hading it to her.

"This is the photo album my wife made me. She updates it every summer while I'm home." He said gesturing for her to open it. On the first page, an obviously younger Severus smiled with a smaller boy on his back who waved at them. "That's Alex and me the summer after my fourth year. He was four."

"Alex is to be my husband?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Severus answered. Hermione nodded and smiled at the two brothers. There were a few more pictures from Severus' childhood, as well as some taken at Hogwarts. Finally, she turned a page and found his wedding. "Julia and I had an arranged marriage, much like you and Alex will. This was our wedding. I was 19. She was 18. At the time, we were nervous. We'd only known each other for a week. Now, I can't imagine my life without her and our kids." he said. Hermione spent the next hour looking through the album, page by page. Severus stayed with her for a while, but he excused himself to get cleaned up. He came back just as she finished the album, carrying a letter.

"Severus, I have a question for you about Alex." Hermione stated. Severus raised an eyebrow at her, signaling to her that she may continue. "Does he know about your other activities? Does he know about the Order? Will I be able to continue working for the Order and against Voldemort?" she asked nervously.

"Alex knows, he didn't approve until I told him I was becoming a spy for the light. He has been begging me to take him to an Order meeting for years now. You will be able to keep doing whatever it is you would like to do in the war effort, as long as it does not compromise my position. This came for you, courtesy of me. I don't know whether it's from Alex or Mother. Do you still want the pepper-up potion?" he asked, handing her the letter. Hermione stood to receive it and was surprised to feel her legs strong and sturdy underneath her.

"No thanks, Severus. I think those potions you gave me earlier did the trick. Thank you for showing me your album. It was calmed my nervous immensely." she said.

"I thought it would help. If you feel the need to chat again, you know where to find me." he said. She gave him a quick hug and left the suite bound for her dormitory.

'She and Alex will get along fine.' Severus thought, watching the door after she left.

'I can't believe I'm going to be related to Professor Snape. At least he seemed more human today.' Hermione thought. She stashed the unopened letter under her pillow and headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

AN: So that's Chapter 2, I think it's a tad bit shorter than Chapter 1. I've got another chapter before they start getting ridiculously long and in need of editing. Bad things happen grammatically when I write in the middle of the night. So, in this chapter, you've met the fluffy white tail of the plot bunny. Things should get interesting soon.


	3. Chapter 3

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Only Snape's family is mine, and I'd be glad to share. Most is Rowling's

AN: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews everyone. I'm glad everyone seems to like the story thus far. Well, here's a new chapter for you, and there may be another new chapter today, but then I probably won't be able to post anything until Tuesday.

Chapter 3

It was Wednesday before Hermione remembered the letter. She headed to her room and dug it out from under her pillow at the first possible opportunity. Pulling the curtains shut around her bed, more because she felt the need for secrecy rather than fear of someone walking into the Head Girl suite, she broke the wax seal. Inside were a long letter and a photo. Hermione picked up the photo and regarded Alex carefully. She had seen lots of old photos of him in the Professor's album, but none of them were new. He was standing, surrounded by roses, wearing Muggle pants and a Muggle dress shirt with a deep red cloak. At the moment, he was standing to one side, allowing her to see him in profile. Hermione was somewhat relieved to see that he did not have Severus' large nose. He suddenly turned to look at her and smile in greeting. Hermione felt as though she were going to melt right then and there, over a man she hardly knew. She set the photo down quickly and picked up the letter

_Dear Hermione,_

_We're in a bit of an awkward situation, aren't we? I had always figured I'd have an arranged marriage, but I'm sure this is all new to you. I hope my brother managed to set your mind at ease a bit. You probably don't think the best of him because he's cranky, strict, and a right git at times, but he's a good guy. Hopefully, he has given you this letter in a timely manner. I'm slipping it into a bundle that Mother and Julia are putting together for him, so he's bound to find it. _

_Well, I'm twenty years old, which probably isn't much older than you, I hope. I'm an Auror, newly graduated, and I reside at Snape Manor with my family. I've enclosed a picture of myself taken in the family garden, which I can't wait to show you. I read a lot and I help to care for my nieces and nephews. To relax, I garden._

_I graduated from Durmstrang, where I was sent because my parents thought it would be strange for Severus and me every time I showed up in Potions class. Now, I almost wish I'd gone to Hogwarts so that maybe I would have met you. Anyway, I'd love to learn more about you. All I know is your name and that you're a Hogwarts student. Severus can give you my address if you'd like to send me a letter._

_The principal reason for writing this letter was to invite you to join me and my family at Snape Manor for the weekend. I'd love the chance to get to know you in person, and the family is anxious to meet you, especially the children. Severus is coming home, so I'm sure you can talk to him about travel arrangements. If he isn't cooperative, let me know, and I'll come and get you myself. Please tell me that you'll come._

_Yours Truly,_

_Alex_

Hermione reread the letter before grabbing her camera and going to find Ginny.

"Ginny, could I ask you for a favor?" she asked, when she found Ginny in her room.

"Sure, Hermione, what's wrong?" Ginny responded.

"Well, I'm getting married, someday, to Professor Snape's brother." She began. Ginny gasped.

"Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry for you. Is there nothing you can do?"

"Ginny look, this is him. This is Alex, my fiancé." She spoke quickly, handing Ginny the picture.

"Wow! He looks hardly anything like the Professor. All they share is their hair color."

"Yes, well. He wants me to send him a letter, telling him a little bit about myself. I want to send him a picture too. I'd appreciate it if you'd help me out with that." She asked.

"Okay, Hermione. Do you have any idea where you like to take the picture?" Ginny asked, smiling. She was glad for a project and the distraction from her Charms essay.

"I was thinking the tree beside the lake. It's my favorite place on campus." Hermione said.

"What are you going to wear? You certainly can't wear that uniform." Ginny said, looking negatively at Hermione's uniform, which was exactly the same as her own. Hogwarts uniforms were not exactly a fashionable item.

"That's another way I need your help. You've got a great eye for fashion, Ginny. I'm sure you can find something appropriate in my wardrobe."

"Well, I've got to look to figure something out. Let's go!" she said, jumping off the bed and heading toward Hermione's Head Girl suite.

Hermione changed into her favorite sweater and a nice pair of khaki pants. They walked out to the spot and took the photo. Hermione thought it was a nice looking photo. Now that she had a photo to send, she headed back inside to work on the letter. Many drafts later, she was finished.

_Dear Alex,_

_Severus gave me your letter after we had a long conversation about the situation. It was my first time speaking with him civilly. I must confess, I hid your letter under my pillow for days before I opened it. I was still rather wary of the situation. I read it this morning and decided to reply immediately, before I forgot or lost my nerve. _

_I didn't have a recent picture of myself to send you, so my friend Ginny Weasley took a picture of me in my favorite spot on campus, under the tree by the lake. It's just a Muggle photo, so it won't move, but it's the best I could do for now. No one I know has a magical camera, except for Colin. I couldn't trust him though; he can't keep a secret to save his life. _

_I'm glad you read a lot, I do too. My hobbies revolve mostly around exercise and physical training. I swim and run, among other things. When I'm not studying or working, I study politics._

_I had a cat named Crookshanks that I loved dearly, but he was old when I got him and he died last year. My friends and I buried him at the edge of the forbidden forest._

_I would be honored to visit you and your family this weekend. I will work out the travel arrangements with Severus. I'm sure there will be no need for you do come for me. _

_Looking forward to meeting you,_

_Hermione_

She got the address from Severus, clarifying the travel arrangements while she was there. Harry loaned her the use of Hedwig and she sent the letter off by the end of the day.

At Snape Manor

Alexander Snape was awake early Thursday morning. He stood in the kitchen, drinking his coffee and sorting through the mail that the house elf, Forchette, had put on the table. There was an envelope for him.

"Forchette, when did this come?" he asked the old elf.

"Came last night, young Master Alex. Must be from far away. Beautiful white owl, sleeping over there if you want to see it." She answered

Alex glanced over at the snow white owl perched in a corner of the kitchen, its head tucked under its wing. Hope gleaned in Alex's eyes.

"It's from her! It's got to be!" he said excitedly, tearing open the envelope.

"Her, Master Alex?" Forchette asked

"Hermione, my…. fiancée." Alex said, walking away with his coffee in one hand and the letter in the other.

"Mother! Father! Julia!" Alex called as he jogged to the dining room. The three adults were eating a light breakfast in the dining room sun.

"What's wrong, Alexander?" Annick said through her heavy French accent.

"C'est manifique, maman! Ma fiancée! Regardez! Elle est trés belle, n'est pas?" (It's magnificent, mama! My fiancée! Look! She is very beautiful, isn't she?) he cried, thrusting the picture at his mother. She looked ecstatic and started gushing in incomprehensible French.

"Alex, would you explain in English for those of us who can't keep up with your French?" Julia asked. Father nodded.

"My….Hermione wrote me back! She's coming this weekend and she sent a picture! She gorgeous!" he exclaimed. Annick passed the picture to her husband and daughter-in-law. Charles Snape smiled while Julia gushed right alongside Annick.

"She's quite pretty, Alex." Julia smiled.

"Are you kidding? She's beautiful, and she'd coming here…this weekend…. To see me! What am I going to do?" he panicked.

"Right now, you're going to take a deep breath, finish your coffee, eat a piece of toast, and go to work." Father said. Alex nodded and followed his instructions. By the end of the day, he was counting the hours until Friday evening. He read her letter every spare moment, analyzing her every word. If Hermione had known he was doing that, she would have been glad she rewrote the letter three times.

AN: There we go the next chapter. Sorry it takes so long, but I have to type out the chapter from my notes, add to it, and proofread. I hope you all don't mind the French. It's a part of my life, so it's a part of my fiction. I'll translate every single word, I swear. There isn't even anything in French that's particularly important to the plot, at least not yet. The elf's name, Forchette, if French for "fork." Next Chapter: Hermione and Severus arrive at Snape Manor and Hermione and Alex meet for the first time.


	4. Chapter 4

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Only Snape's family is mine and I'd be willing to share them with anyone.

AN: Thanks for the great reviews. I told you guys it would be Tuesday before I got an update up here. I thought it would be Tuesday morning, but my sister went into work much later than she normally does. I only post when no one is around. Anyway, you guys are still getting your Tuesday update, this chapter in particular took at bit of work in the post-production stages, so I hope you like it as much as the others.

Chapter 4

Late Thursday night, Hermione lay awake in her bed. She had tried to sleep, but the excitement of the next day was too much for her, it was worse than Christmas Eve to a small child. She'd passed the time playing various scenarios in her head. For instance, what would she say to him when they met? What would he say to her? What would they do before bed? Would they kiss? What was she going to wear? All of these thoughts kept floating around in Hermione's head. All of a sudden, the atom bomb of thoughts struck Hermione so hard that she gasped for breath.

"Ginny. Ginny." She whispered urgently, shaking her sleeping friend. The thought was so overpowering that Hermione couldn't even begin to deal with it alone.

"Hermione? What's the matter?" Ginny whispered groggily

"My hair. He's not seen my hair. What if he decides he doesn't like me because of this untamable shrub I wear on my head?" Hermione whispered, nearly in tears.

"If you're that afraid of it, braid your hair before you go, so he doesn't meet your hair right off the bat. Then, if you need to wear it down later, put some Sleak Easy's in it." Ginny whispered.

"Ginny, that's so simple it's brilliant. What would I ever do without you?" Hermione whispered, hugging her best gal pal.

"You'd have frizzy hair and a terrified fiancé. Now go to bed or at least leave me alone, because I'm tired." Ginny whispered. Hermione smiled at her before scurrying out of the room just as quickly as she scurried in.

When Hermione finished with her classes on Friday, she was both excited and nervous. She packed a couple of Muggle outfits to take with her, as well as one robe. She realized that she didn't have much there, as they wore uniforms most of the time at school. Hermione made a mental note to owl her parents and ask them to send her more clothes. With everything shrunken to fit in her school bag and a book for her free time, Hermione left the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron had agreed at lunch to collect her issues of the Daily Prophet for her and leave them in her room, so she didn't have to worry about that. Down in Severus' quarters, Hermione realized how dreadfully early she was. He still had another class to teach. She settled into one of the chairs in the living room and opened her book. Professor Snape walked into the room when it seemed to Hermione that no time had passed. To the clock, the situation was quite the opposite. He was still early, but much less early than she had been.

"You're early." She noted, looking up from her book.

"Yes, well, those dunderheads were getting on my last nerves, so I sent them away early with a rather large essay to ruin their weekend." he said gruffly, picking up a bag that she hadn't notice before. Professor Snape took a deep breath and transformed into Severus, her much more friendly future brother-in-law. Hermione was glad to see this, for she dreaded traveling with the utter git that was Professor Snape.

"Are you excited?" he asked her quietly.

"I think so." she responded.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to get used to the place and get settled in before you meet Alex. It's only 1 o'clock now and he doesn't get off work until 6, 5 at the earliest." Severus said. Hermione was relieved to hear this, she didn't really want to meet him and get used to a new place all at the same time. She also wanted time to make sure that the long braid cascading down her back was tight and orderly. It had taken her several tries to get it as presentable as it was. The first time it just looked like a large woven Brillo pad.

"Hermione. Hermione. Wake up Hermione!" Severus prodded. Hermione shook herself loose from her thoughts.

"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked, embarrassed to be caught off guard.

"I asked if you were ready to leave?" he stated, smiling knowingly at her.

"Oh, sure, let's go." She said, tucking her book back into her bag and following Severus out. She was glad that their conversation hadn't delayed the pair's departure until the class change. She didn't really need the whole school to see her following the Potions Master out of the castle.

The odd pair walked silently to the end of the No-Apparation Zone, where Severus Apparated them to the walk leading to Snape Manor. As they trudged up the lawn, the large white house revealed itself to Hermione. It looked old and stodgy, and she found herself desperately hoping that its inhabitants weren't the same way.

Severus held open the front door, allowing Hermione into the house several seconds before himself. Hermione stepped into a large formal foyer that would have been terrifyingly imposing if not for the little boy pushing a toy train about in the floor. He looked up curiously at Hermione, but his eyes grew huge as Severus stepped in behind her.

"Daddy! Daddy!" he yelled as he ran to the door. Severus scooped him up and threw him into the air with practiced ease.

"Hi champ! Can you say hello to Hermione? She's going to be visiting this weekend." He said gently, settling the small boy on his arm. The little boy gazed at her curiously and waved. Hermione waved back at him, which cause him to grin furiously.

"Hermione, this is Morgan, my youngest." Severus said as means of an introduction. Morgan responded by stretching out and reaching for Hermione. She took him carefully, and the boy settled comfortably on her hip after giving her a big wet kiss on the cheek. "It seems you've made a friend. Well, Morgan is a good guy to have on your side. Morgan, where are Mummy and Grandmum?" Severus asked. Morgan pointed down the hall.

As if on cue, a curvaceous woman with her hair in a messy bun stepped into the room. She was looking for something low to the ground, so she didn't even notice them standing on the other end of the room.

"Morgan. It's time to go get cleaned up for Daddy. This isn't a good time to hide from Mummy; she's already running late." The woman sang tiredly.

"He doesn't look too dirty to me." Severus said, startling the woman.

"Severus! You're here early!" she squeaked, quickly closing the distance between them and kissing the professor. Hermione stood there with the baby and tried her best not to look uncomfortable.

"There's my baby!" she said dramatically, taking a giggling Morgan from Hermione. "You must be Hermione. I'm Julia, Severus' wife. I see you've already made friends with Morgan. Well, let me show you to your room so that you can get settled in before you meet the family." She took Hermione in her free hand and led the girl up the stairs. She set Morgan down partway down the hall and told him to go see what his siblings were up to. They watched him toddle down the hall in what Hermione assumed was the correct direction before moving on.

"This is the rose room." she explained, opening one cream-colored door. "Alex requested that I get to you first and set you up in here. Annick would have put you in the lavender room or something, but this room is Alex's favorite. You can leave anything you want in here, because this will be your room in the house until you and Alex marry. Don't worry about the security, I've checked it thoroughly to be sure Alex didn't do anything fishy and warded it so that he can't. Sorry to be so gruff and short with you earlier, but it's been a long week and the last thing I need is to have Alex mad at me." Julia explained, smiling pleasantly.

"It's no problem. Do you have time to stay and chat for a bit while I unpack?" Hermione asked, slightly desperate for the company of a mature woman.

"Of course! I'm in a better position to hear the kids here anyway." She said, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. Hermione turned to get her first glimpse of her room.

The rose room was beautiful, if words could even describe its beauty. The walls were painted in a very light shade of pink. All of the furniture in the room was wooden, chestnut to be precise. The large bed was covered in white bedding with pink accents. She had a private bathroom attached to her room. Two dozen roses spilled from a glass vase resting on top of her dresser drawers. She didn't have to think hard to know that they were from Alex. She set down her bag and began to pull the clothing and other personal items out, putting them in their appropriate places in a couple of the drawers and on top of the vanity.

"I bet I know why Alex likes this room so much." Julia said excitedly, rushing to a set of doors previously unnoticed by Hermione. These doors were thinner, with fabric in the middle. Julia led Hermione out onto a private balcony that overlooked the most beautiful rose garden she'd ever seen. "This is Alex's personal rose garden, no doubt the source of the roses on your dresser. Probably the only room with a better view is Alex's own room" Julia explained.

"It's beautiful." Hermione said, struggling to find the right words. They stared at the garden a few minutes more before they heard a ruckus from downstairs.

AN: Sorry only a slight cliffhanger. As penitence for leaving you like this, I wrote two more chapters this weekend, as well as determining where the chapter lines should be. I'm writing in Chapter 13 right now, to give you an estimate. The next chapter will probably be up sometime tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Just as it always has been, none of these characters are mine except the Snape family.

AN: Here's the other half of the original Chapter 4. As you can imagine, this is where you all get to meet Alex.

Chapter 5

"Uncle Alex! Look! Look at this!" a little voice echoed through the halls

"Oh la la, Quinnie! Good job!" a man answered

"Hermione, I forgot to ask, do you speak French?" Julia asked, drawing Hermione's attention away from the voices she could hear in the hall.

"Fairly well, I'm not fluent, but I got by well enough during my summer in France, why?" Hermione replied, curious.

"Well, Annick, Severus and Alex's mother, is French. English is her second language, and I always go the feeling she as disappointed that I couldn't speak French." Julia explained. "Now it sounds as thought Alex has come home early, so we should go see him. He's probably come home early to see you more, so it's only proper."

They walked down the stairs into the main entry way. Hermione spent most of her walk down the main stairs watching the tall man in the foyer interacting with some of the children. She paused, still partially on the stairwell, watching.

"Children, have you let your uncle breathe since he got home?" Julia called, scolding. The three older children backed away and looked down.

"It's fine, Juls. Quinnie was just showing me where her tooth fell out today. I've got to get caught up on everything that has happened while I was at work." He said, pulling back the smallest of the three children. They all peered into the little girl's mouth with renewed interest, while the little girl regaled them all with the tale of losing her tooth. Julia sighed. She went to try to pull the heavy work robes off of him, but he crossed his arms, refusing to let her.

"Children, you all need to go wash up for dinner." Julia explained, waiting until the children had run up the stairs. Hermione could see that they were only hiding. "Okay Alex, what happened today? It must have been something if they sent you home two hours early." Julia mothered.

"Nothing happened. Just go find Severus for me please? I don't want Mother to hear of this, you know how she worries." He whispered

"Fine, I'll go get him. By the way, your guest arrived this afternoon. I suggest you find some time to greet her properly." Julia said, walking hurriedly down the hall and down a flight of stairs. The children ran back down the stairs as Alex stood smiling broadly at Hermione.

"Hermione! You're really here. I'm so glad you could come." He said, moving to hug her as she stepped off the stairs, but stopping suddenly. "Have you met the little ones yet?" He asked.

"Just Morgan, I've scarcely had time to meet anyone since I got here." Hermione said cheerfully.

"Well, come on down and I'll introduce you." He said. One of the girls went to pull on his hand to get his attention. "Ouch. Don't do that right now, please." He said to the girl. "Hermione, this is Daisy, Jordan, and Quinn. Guys, this is Hermione, she's going to be your aunt some day."

"Hello!" said the one called Quinn. "I've lost a tooth today, see?" she said, pulling open her mouth and showing Hermione where the front tooth had disappeared.

"I see. Very impressive. Pretty soon you'll have a brand new tooth in that hole." She said, smiling. Severus popped out of one of the doors.

"Kids, why don't you go see if Forchette needs any help setting the table for dinner." Severus said, more of an order than a question. Morgan popped out from under Alex's robe and toddled after them.

"Julia said you needed to see me?" he said quietly.

"I got burned today; I got distracted. I need you to help me heal it or hide it so Maman doesn't find out." Alex pleaded, whispering.

"Fine, go to your room; I'll be there in a moment. You can take Miss Granger with you." He said, heading back down the stairs. Alex offered his uninjured arm to Hermione, leading her back up the stairs. This time, thought, they turned and went into a different wing of the house. He stopped at one of the first doors and led Hermione inside. Hermione was slightly uncomfortable, thinking she was about to be led into her fiancé's bedroom. She released a breath she hadn't known she was holding when they stepped into a study filled with books, childish artwork, comfortable chairs, and a few souvenirs.

"This is my lounge, where I spend most of my time." He explained, sinking carefully into one of the chairs. "Make yourself at home." Hermione perched carefully on the chair next to him.

"Julia told me that you wanted me to have that room. It's beautiful; thank you." She said, carefully.

"I'm glad you like it. Have you looked out your balcony yet?" he asked.

"Yes, your garden is beautiful." She responded

"Thanks."

"You seem to take pride in it. Much like you do in your nieces and nephews." she said. Alex chuckled.

"They're something," he smiled.

"Tell me about them?" Hermione requested.

"Well, Daisy is the oldest. She's 10, and she's such a little mummy. She helps keep an eye on everyone. She's a bookworm, just like you and I. I take credit for that, since I read to her every single day and night for years. She used to get quite upset when Severus would leave to go back to school, and I'd bring her in here and read to her until she fell asleep. Jordan is 7. He's quiet, observant, and sneaky just like his father. He's a sweet kid though. Quinn, or Quinnie as we often call her, is 5. She's our little princess. She's funny and precocious. She's also the most openly friendly, which means she'll probably bond with you before the others. Jordan is shy, so he probably won't speak to you at all this weekend. He's not so good with new people, and I think he's mad that I might be getting married at some point in the near future. Morgan, the baby, is 2. He's very calm; we attribute that to being the fourth child." He explained.

Severus walked into the room carrying a couple of potions vials. Jordan came in behind him with some rags. "Thank you Jordan. You can go now."

"Thanks, Dad, but I'd rather stay and watch if that's alright?" the boy said quietly, looking from Severus to Alex and Hermione.

"Fine, you may stay if you don't get in the way. Alex, take off as many layers of clothing as you must."Severus ordered.

Alex quickly removed his outer robe, wincing at one sleeve. They could see the burned hole and charred flesh through his dress shirt. He took off one sleeve of the dress shirt, but paused warily at the sleeve of the charred arm. Hermione stood and came around to the other side of him. She took hold of shirt, holding it so that minimal amounts of fabric touched his arm.

"Hold your breath." She ordered quietly. Alex took a deep breath and held it. Hermione ripped the shirt off his arm.

"Ah sweet Merlin!" Alex groaned through clenched teeth.

"Oh quit being a baby. I've done that to people who have had much worse injuries." Hermione said calmly, turning his arm to examine the burn. Severus laughed silently in the background. Even Jordan couldn't resist smiling.

"Hermione, you should as though you're a pro at this." Severus said.

"Well, Harry and Ron get into a lot of shady accidents that they don't want to explain to Madam Pomfrey. Plus, I spent last summer learning first aid with Charlie Weasley." She explained.

"Then I take it you know what to do with these?" Severus said, holding up the two vials he brought.

"Indeed I do." She said. Severus handed them to her.

"Then I'll leave you to your work. Do you mind if Jordan stays and watches?" he asked.

"Not at all. He can be my helper." She said, winking at Jordan. The dark haired boy smiled back at her. Severus left quietly, and Hermione held the vials out to Jordan.

"Jordan, do you know which of these we use first?" she asked, in a teacherly fashion. Jordan shrugged silently.

"Well, you're about to learn. This green one is a soothing potion. Its job is to calm the skin so that we can heal it with the other potion. Would you hand me one of those rags, please?" she asked. Jordan quickly handed over one of the rags. Hermione folded it into a roll and stuck it in Alex's mouth. "Bite down on that, Alex. We don't want you making too much noise." She said, holding out her hand for another rag. She poured the potion all over the second rag and pressed the cloth firmly in to Alex's arm. The man hissed, but didn't move. "Count to 40 Jordan." She ordered.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15…..35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40." Jordan counted. When he reached 40, Hermione removed the cloth, now dry of potion. The redness had decreased on Alex's arm and all of the bleeding portions of the burn had healed shut.

"Now, wasn't that neat?" Hermione asked, taking a step back to admire the effects of the potion.

"Yeah, Hermione. That was awesome! What does the other one do?" Jordan asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"This blue potion is even more awesome than the other one. This one is the burn removing potion. I can't really explain exactly what it does, but it gets rid of the burn and any traces that the burn was ever there."

"Awesome." Jordan whispered.

"I know. Hand me another rag, and I'll show you how this works." She said. She showed him how she could pull the burned flesh from Alex's arm by applying the potion to the rag and wiping the rag down his arm. Hermione pulled off the dead cells, leaving the un-maimed muscle underneath. Three nasty rags later, the burn was gone. "Okay, we're finished." She announced. Alex looked surprised as he pulled the rag out of his mouth with his other arm.

"Already? Severus usually takes forever about healing me back up. Are you sure you got it all?" he asked.

"Yes, take a look for yourself." She said, gesturing toward the mirror. Alex examined his arm closely.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! That's incredible. Even I'm not sure there was ever a burn there." He exclaimed.

"That was the point. Why don't you go put on a clean shirt, just like the one you were wearing so that we can go downstairs?" she suggested, tossing the rags and the old shirt into the fire. Alex disappeared through a side door.

"Hermione? Why are you burning the rags and Uncle Alex's shirt?" Jordan asked.

"For two reasons really. One reason I have to burn them is because they have potions in them now. While cleansing potions could get rid of the skin cells, traces of the potions would still be on them. Some potions react with other potions, so it wouldn't be safe for someone else to use these with a different potion. Do you understand?"

"I think so, what's the other reason?" Jordan asked.

"You r uncle doesn't want anyone to know what happened, so we have to destroy all the proof that anything ever happened." She explained.

"Oh good. You're destroying the evidence." Alex said, emerging with a clean and crisp white shirt. "Jordan, why don't you go ahead and get washed up for dinner. Remember, this is our little secret." The little boy saluted and ran out the door.

"Finally I can do what I've wanted to do since the second you got here." Alex said, eyeing Hermione. She looked back at him with a mixture of fear, confusion, and anxiety. Alex ran up and grabbed her in a big hug, twirling her around through the air. "I'm so happy you came." He said. Hermione laughed as she flew through the air, her arms tight around Alex's upper body.

"I'm happy I came too." She said as her feet returned to the floor.

"How did the kid do?" Alex asked, still holding Hermione close to him.

"Wonderfully, he'll make a fine medi-wizard some day." She answered honestly.

"You should tell him that sometime. He'll be so thrilled to hear it. As much as I hate to admit it, I think you two may have bonded over my misery." Alex said, smiling "Now I'm starving, what do you say we go down to dinner?"

"That sounds great." Hermione said, smiling. Alex offered his freshly healed arm to his fiancée and led her downstairs into the living room where the rest of the family waited.

AN: That's it for Chapter 5. Chapter 6 may appear sometime tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Any character you recognize isn't mine.

AN: Here's Chapter 6. It's a little shorter than some of the others, but Chapter 7 will make it up to you.

Chapter 6

As soon as Hermione and Alex entered the living room, Morgan toddled over to Hermione and held up his arms to be lifted. Quinnie was sitting in her father's lap. Daisy sat with her mother and grandmother while Jordan lurked in the corner by his grandfather.

"Mother, Father, this is Hermione." Alex introduced her. He released her arm and took a step away from her.

"Hello cherie (dear), my name is Annick. Please don't call me Mrs. Snape, it makes me feel old." The white haired woman said, coming near to embrace Hermione.

"Call me Charles, Hermione. We're so glad you could join us this weekend. I trust Alex will find a way to make sure you have a good time." The old patriarch of the Snape family said from his arm chair.

"Qu'est-ce que tu penses de la fille, mon fils?" Annick asked (What do you think of the girl, my son?) Hermione suddenly realized that she hadn't told Alex she could speak French.

"Trés bien, Maman. Elle est belle, amusante, sympa, intelligente…" (Very well, Mother. She is beautiful, funny, nice, intelligent…) he responded.

"Elle est sportive aussi." (She's athletic also.) Severus added from his chair, remembering her run.

"Et aussi, elle parle français." (And also, she speaks French.) Hermione added. Alex looked at her, shocked and turned beet red. He blushed at the floor. Severus' eyebrows shot up into his forehead. Annick looked absolutely delighted and kissed Hermione on the forehead. Charles laughed heartily from his chair while Julia grinned.

"You've been using that as your own secret code against us for so long. Well now it has backfired on you." Charles chuckled. Julia laughed silently while some of the children giggled.

"Finalement, une fille après mon coeur." (Finally, a girl after my own heart.) Annick beamed, pulling Hermione over to the couch to sit with her, Julia, and Daisy. They sat all together, holding private and small group conversations for a few minutes before Julia suggested they all move to the dining room. Following her suggestion, they all stood and moved through the French doors into a comfortable dining room lined with windows.

Hermione was privately delighted when Alex pulled out her chair for her before sitting down beside her. Jordan sat down on her other side and Quinn sat beside him. Severus and his father sat at the two heads of the table. Dinner was delicious, as good as the company. She and Alex chatted away and laughed a lot. Hermione found a moment to whisper to Jordan that she thought he could be a fine medi-wizard some day and squeeze his hand under the table. Alex was right, the boy was delighted. He gave Hermione a big smile and a hug. Severus looked mildly shocked at the seemingly unexplained behavior of his son. After dessert, Alex asked Hermione if she'd like to go for a walk in the garden. She accepted, of course. The two set off hand-in-hand for the rose garden.

Two hours later, Hermione and Alex were lying on their backs in a clearing and staring up at the stars. They were beginning to form a bond and their body language showed it. They rested side by side, as close together and they could get, their hands clasped firmly between them. They sat in complete silence, but neither of them felt the need to break the comfortable silence.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked, peering down at them.

""We're looking at the stars, Quinnie. Would you like to join us?" Hermione asked. Quinn quickly sat down on Hermione's free side and looked up at the sky. Hermione put her free hand on the little girl's back, silently joining her to their group.

"Aunt Hermiminie, what are stars?" she asked.

"Stars are giant balls of gas and fire that are far far away." She explained. Quinn looked at her.

"Like torches?" she asked.

"Like great big giant torches far far far away." Alex said.

"Is that why they're so small?" she asked.

"Yes." Hermione responded.

"That's really cool." Quinn said. She scooted down and laid back, curling into Hermione. It wasn't long before the little girl was asleep.

"Alex, I think Quinn is asleep." Hermione whispered after a while.

"Okay, I suppose we should go inside anyway, it's getting late." He said. He stood and gathered Quinn against his chest. Hermione stood up and they walked to the house. They put Quinnie in bed in the room she shared with Daisy. As they left, they saw Severus walking down the hallway carrying Daisy. "She must have fallen asleep in the library again." Alex whispered, gently leading Hermione down the hall with a hand on the small of her back. Hermione was yawning herself, so Alex took her back to the rose room.

"Goodnight, Hermione. I'll see you in the morning." He said slowly, obviously deliberating on something.

"Sleep well, Alex." She responded. He kissed her hand and left her at her door. Hermione felt her heart melt a little. Hermione entered her room and leaned heavily against her closed door. Eventually, she recovered a little and went to bed.

AN: That's Chapter 6. Chapter 7 is HUGE, it may take me two days to type up. To show you, this chapter is 2.5 pages in my notebook. Chapter 7 is 8.5 pages long in the same notebook. This is Friday evening, while Chapter 7 is all day Saturday. It should be up tomorrow, though. I'm probably going to start typing it as soon as I post this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing

AN: Here it is the War and Peace of all chapters. I'd like to thank you guys for all the great reviews. I'm averaging between 6 and 7 reviews for chapter and I couldn't be more thrilled. I haven't gotten a single flame either! I'm so glad you are all enjoying the story so much.

Chapter 7

Hermione got out of the shower the next morning to find Daisy and Quinn sitting on her bed, clearly having just stopped jumping on it. Hermione was briefly glad she had bothered to wear her fluffy white bathrobe out of the bathroom.

"Good morning, girls. Did you need something?" Hermione asked.

"Good morning Aunt Hermione. We came to ask if you would fix our hair." Daisy said carefully. Quinn nodded enthusiastically.

"Doesn't your Mum usually do that?"she asked, not wanting to encroach on the territory of her future sister-in-law.

"Yes, but she's not feeling well this morning. Daddy said we could ask you." Quinn said.

"Okay then. How would you like to have your hair today?" she asked.

"Pig Tails!" Quinn cheered.

"French braid." Daisy said

"French braid!" Quinn changed her cheer, bouncing lightly on the bed.

"Pig tails." Daisy said angrily.

"How lucky for you that I know how to do French-braided pigtails." Hermione said, ending the argument. She quickly braided both girls' hair, fixed her own hair, and got dressed. Hermione emerged from her dressing room in a pale green sundress. She wasn't sure what Alex wanted to do today, but it was sunny and warm, perfect sundress weather. Finally dressed and ready, Hermione looked at the clock to see that it was only 7 in the morning. She thought for certain it would be later than that. With a shrug, Hermione walked downstairs with the goal of finding some breakfast. She was mildly surprised to find everyone but Alex and Julia already dining. Hermione sat quietly in her same seat from dinner, beside Quinn this time, and bade them all a good morning.

"Good morning, Hermione dear. As you can tell, breakfast around here is very informal. Just ask Forchette for whatever you'd like." Annick explained, noticing Hermione's confusion to see no spare dishes on the table and everyone eating something different.

As if on cue, a house elf appeared.

"What can Forchette make for you, miss?" the elf asked.

"Tea and toast please, Forchette. And some strawberry jam to go with the toast." Hermione said.

"Right away, miss." The elf replied before popping away. Hermione stopped to look at what the others had chosen for breakfast. Severus was halfway through a stack of pancakes. Jordan and Charles both had scrambled eggs and bacon. Daisy was munching away at a bowl of cereal. Annick had a cup of fruit and a dish of yogurt. Beside her, Quinn was waging war with a Belgian waffle. The occupants of the table were either eating quietly while staring into space or reading at the table. Seeing that Severus wasn't going to notice his young daughter's silent war, Hermione gently guided the girl through the actions of cutting the waffle into small squares. Quinn smiled at her gratefully, finally able to eat. Before long, Hermione had finished her tea and toast. She followed the lead of several others before her and got up. She had it in her head to go sit on the balcony and read for a while. She had just sat down when a knock came at the door. It was Severus, carrying Morgan and a stuffed dragon.

"Hermione, could you do me a huge favor and watch Morgan for a while? I'm working on a potion to help Julia feel better. Alex isn't awake yet and Mother and Father went into town." He pleaded.

"Sure I'll watch him, but what about the older ones?" she responded, taking Morgan as he reached for her.

"They will be fine. Forchette knows where to find me if you need me for anything. Thanks again, Hermione." He said, trotting off down the hall. Hermione looked at Morgan and went back into her room. She left the door open this time so that she could hear if the older ones caused a ruckus. She set Morgan down on the floor of the balcony with his dragon and settled down again with her book. Morgan quickly toddled over to her, the dragon lying abandoned on the floor.

"Book?" he said, pointing. Hermione smiled at him.

"Yes, do you like books?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Vread?" the little boy asked.

"Yes would you like me to read to you?" she asked. Morgan's response was to climb into her lap, facing the book, then look up at her expectantly. Hermione read for nearly an hour about the formation of the Wizengamot. She had expected Morgan to get bored quickly and return to his dragon, but he settled into her and listened as though he actually understood what she was talking about. Hermione looked up after a while and saw Alex leaning in the doorway, watching them.

"Good morning." He said when she smiled at him.

"Morning." She replied.

"I have to occupy the kids today, so I was going to take them to the beach. Would you like to come?" he asked.

"Sure, do you need help getting the little ones ready?" she asked.

"Nope, I'll just take this big guy from you and leave you to get ready." Alex said, plucking Morgan from her lap. "We'll meet you in the foyer in a bit." He said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Hermione took off her dress and transfigured her undergarments into a swimsuit and her dress into a sarong. She then made flip flops and a floppy straw hat from dress shoes and some hair ribbon. She warded her skin against the sun and grabbed her sunglasses before heading downstairs. Alex and the children were waiting, all similarly attired. She could feel Alex watching her through his sunglasses. They were scrambling to figure out who would carry what. Eventually, it was decided. Hermione lucked out. She only had Morgan, Morgan's diaper bag and Quinnie's hand. They headed down the walk, but turned onto what looked like a drive. Hermione was mildly shocked to see a Muggle car sitting in the driveway. The kids piled into the back seat of the car while Alex loaded gear and toys into the trunk. Hermione released Quinnie, telling her to climb in the backseat with her siblings. She went to the passenger seat and sat down with Morgan settled snugly in a carrier in the middle.

Once everything was in the car, Alex drove them a few miles to the beach. Everyone got out and took up their same loads. Alex carried a huge beach umbrella and a large blanket. Jordan carried the bag of beach toys and the first aid kit. Daisy carried the picnic basket that held their lunch. A stack of towels remained in the car for when it was time to go home. The group walked onto the beach and set up camp. There were lots of people on the beach, but they still had plenty of room. Once everything was settled, the kids all ran to play in the water while Hermione and Alex sat under the umbrella. The tide was high, just right for the kids. Morgan stepped into the water, but screamed wildly as soon as the first little ripple splashed against his legs. Hermione laughed as she and Alex went out to play with them as well. Hermione took off her sarong before the left. Alex went to jump in the waves with Daisy, Jordan, and Quinn while Hermione stopped to comfort the teary toddler. She scooped him up and headed back toward the water. They tried to 'make friends' with the water, but ended up going to play in the sand. Morgan was quite happy shoveling sand into one of the beach bucket. Soon, Quinnie got bored and joined Hermione and Morgan's game, stacking the full buckets to build a castle. They played for a while longer before they were covered by the shadows of Alex, Daisy, and Jordan.

"We thought it might be a good time for lunch." Alex said.

"Mmmmm, lunch! Let's eat! I'm hungry!" Quinnie exclaimed jumping up and running for the blanket. They had sandwiches, fruit, and potato chips for lunch. They decided to save the fresh baked cookies for later.

After lunch, Hermione went to play in the ocean with Quinnie and Jordan while Alex and Daisy took Morgan seashell hunting. When they came back ashore later, Daisy, Jordan, and Quinn decided to dig at the shoreline for clams. Alex was sitting under the umbrella with a sleeping Morgan stretched out across his legs. Hermione joined her fiancé.

"Hello. Are you enjoying the day?" Alex asked her as she sat down.

"Very much. Are you?" she asked.

"Oh yes." He answered. They looked deep into each other's eyes for a moment before a camera flash interrupted them.

"What the hell!" Alex exclaimed under his breath as they turned to see an older woman looking at them.

"Zut! Je regrette. Uhhhh, Parlez-vous anglais?" (Damn! I apologize. Ummm, do you speak English?) she asked in broken French. Hermione had learned earlier that the manor was in Provence, France, explaining why there was so much French-ness around.

"Yes, we do." Hermione said.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure how to explain this in French. I'm an American photographer and I'm shooting for a page spread in a magazine about Provence and the beaches here. You three were just too perfect to resist." she explained.

"Thanks, I guess. You really should ask before you take someone's photo though." Alex said.

"I'm so sorry about that, but I was so afraid it would ruin the moment." She said. "Anyway, could you tell me a bit about yourselves and your growing family?" she said, pulling out a notepad and a stub of a pencil.

"Well, I'm Alex Snape. This is my fiancée Hermione Granger and my nephew Morgan. I live around here, but Hermione is from England." Alex explained.

"Well, that's certainly not what I was expecting, but it will do." The reporter said. "Do you come here regularly?"

"Every now and again. The kids love the beach, so I bring them when I can." Alex said.

"Kids?" the reporter asked, scribbling away furiously.

"Yes, my nieces and nephews." Alex answered. Morgan decided to wake up at that moment. He cried and reached for Hermione. She took the little boy as Alex stood up and whistled for the older ones.

"Is it cookie time?" Quinnie asked as she ran up. Daisy and Jordan jogged up right behind her.

"Would you guys like to have your cookies now?" Hermione asked.

"Yes!" Quinn exclaimed, jumping into the air.

"Please." Daisy said. Jordan nodded, eyeing the reporter warily.

"Everyone, this is…" Alex trailed off.

"Joyce Roberts." The reporter supplied.

"This is Joyce Roberts. She's a reporter and photographer. Miss Roberts has been talking to Hermione and me." Alex said, while Hermione handed out the large homemade cookies. The kids sat on the blanket and munched away. The photographer snapped a few more pictures and talked a bit more before she thanked them and left. The children finished their cookies and went off to play for a little while longer. Hermione and Alex returned to being engrossed by each other for a moment, long enough to share their first kiss.

"I don't want to leave this place. I don't want to leave you tomorrow." Hermione confessed.

"I don't want you to go." Alex confessed, kissing her neck softly. Their quiet moment was interrupted by Morgan's scream as he fought against Quinn, who was trying to pull him into the ocean. Alex jumped up and ran over there, pulling Quinn away from Morgan. Morgan fell backwards into the shallow water, bawling wildly. Alex scooped up Morgan and pulled Quinn along by the wrist back to the shore. Morgan fought against his uncle, forcing Alex to set him down rather than drop him. Morgan ran across the blanket and straight to Hermione, still bawling. While she soothed the littlest Snape, Alex decided it was time to go. He called the older ones in from the water and loaded everything up. They walked back to the car. When Alex handed out towels back at the car, Hermioen wrapped hers around her shoulders and bundled Morgan lightly in his.

When they got back to the house, Alex ordered everyone to bathe and change for dinner. The children headed upstairs tiredly. Alex took Morgan and dropped Hermione off back in front of her room, this time with a quick kiss on the lips. Hermione showered and changed quickly while contemplating this new relationship. Dinner was a quiet affair and Hermione realized that there was something they weren't telling her. After dinner, she camped out in Alex's study, determined to get an explanation. Alex entered a few minutes later. He was shocked to see her, sitting angrily in one of his armchairs.

"Hermione! What are you doing in here?" he asked, surprised to see her.

"I came to find out what it is that you aren't telling me." Hermione responded standing and crossing her arms across her chest.

"I wanted to tell you, but I needed to see how you would react first, Hermione. Please don't be angry with me, it's not really my business to tell anyway." Alex said moving to stand across from her.

"Tell me, Alex. I deserve to know if there's something going on with my family." Hermione said coldly. Alex moved away and leaned against the fireplace, facing away from her.

"It's Julia. She's sick." He said quietly. "She's dying and we can't stop it. She's got untreatable leukemia." He finished, his body hanging heavily. Hermione instantly felt guilty for her earlier anger and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He spun and pulled her into a deep, emotional kiss. She responded to the kiss. They snogged in Alex's study late into the night and ended up falling asleep on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms.


	8. Chapter 8

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

Disclaimer: Just like last time, anyone you recognize isn't mine.

AN: I'd just like to thank you all for all the awesome reviews. I got one special review last week that caused me to revamp what remains of the story. I realized that the last few chapters have been solid fluff, which wasn't what I was striving for, but it's the easiest way to introduce new characters. I'm going to start moving back to the writing style of the early chapters. I nearly forgot about the Dark-Light tensions!

Chapter 8

Hermione was unusually warm and uncomfortable when she awoke. It took a moment for the young woman to recall where she was and why she was sharing a couch with her fiancé. Hermione slipped out of her fiancé's embrace and off of the couch. With a quick clothing check, Hermione was able to reassure herself that nothing had happened. Alex woke slightly and opened his eyes.

"Mione, don't leave. Come back to bed." He said groggily. Hermione kissed his forehead.

"I'm not leaving. Go back to sleep Alex." she whispered. Hermione ran her fingers through his hair until he slipped back into dreamland.

Part of Hermione was astonished that no one seemed to know that anything had been different last night- that she hadn't slept in her bed. The rational part of her kept saying that it was impossible for them to have known unless someone stepped into Alex's study or her bedroom late at night. Her room was blissfully empty and quiet when Hermione entered to shower and change in her own bathroom. It was full of little girl cheerfulness when she emerged, clean and changed. The girls had wanted to visit Hermione and chat on her last day in the manor house. She hung out with them for awhile before they all went down to breakfast. Julia was present this morning, but she looked pale and tired. Severus watched his wife with a mixture of love, worry, and sadness. He pulled Alex and Hermione to one side after breakfast.

"There is a meeting in two hours. Meet me in the foyer in an hour and a half. Don't make a big deal about leaving or you'll have to deal with the children." He said. "Miss Granger, be ready to return to school after the meeting."

"Severus, what if we just told the children that we were taking Hermione home. That way, she can still say good-bye to the kids. You'll be going back to the school too, so you'll need farewells and I could have decided to accompany Hermione back to her room." Alex offered.

"That would work." Severus said.

Hermione went upstairs, packed her things, shrunk them, and put them in the pockets of her not-too-adult clothes. She then met Alex and went to bid the children good-bye. They were all in the playroom. She got a hug from each before heading downstairs. Severus was waiting for them in the foyer, dressed in his best starched black teaching robes. They walked outside and Apparated to Grimmbauld Place. Severus handed Alex a scrap of parchment.

"Memorize what is on this parchment." He said. Alex read it and handed it back. Severus burned it with the tip of his wand. "Think about what you just read." He said. They watched the astonished look on Alex's face as numbers 11 and 13 moved aside to allow number 12 to push through. Hermione and Severus had been able to see it anyway. If it hadn't been for Alex, they probably would just have Flooed into the kitchen. It was a bit dangerous to be outside number twelve, so they quickly ushered Alex inside. Harry and Ron were on the stairs, waiting for them. They pounced on Hermione as Severus walked further into the house. Alex looked from his fiancée to his brother, wondering whose behavior he was to emulate. He decided to stay with Hermione and meet her friends.

"Harry, Ron, this is Alex. Alex, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." Hermione said as soon as they left her alone enough.

"Hello." Harry bid quietly, Ron simply glared.

"Hermione, why are they staring at me like that?" Alex whispered.

"They think you're going to be like your brother." She whispered back. Alex laughed heartily. Harry and Ron looked shaken. Professor Snape would never laugh, especially not in public. They didn't have time to really react to hit as Professor Snape appeared at that moment and told them all in no uncertain terms that they were expected in the dining room.

The Order of the Pheonix had grown some since two years earlier, when Hermione had first heard of the Order. To accommodate everyone took the entire table, crowded with chairs, and several chairs had to be moved in from the library and placed around the edges of the room. Severus seated himself in what was undisputedly _his_ chair. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alex took seats at the table. Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, conversing quietly with Tonks and Lupin.

"Well, hi Rook. I was wondering when he'd let you come." Tonks said, smiling down the table at Alex.

"Rook? The infamous Rook? Good to meet you, kid, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Missing Persons.

"Alex Snape, Unexplained Occurrences." Alex said, shaking the man's hand.

"Don't worry kid; you'll get out of there in a few more years. Maybe you can be up in Missing Persons with me and Tonks." Shacklebolt said. Alex nodded.

"I sincerely hope so. It's almost impossible not to get hurt every day down there." Alex responded.

"I know, I once got thrown off a cliff by an Erumpent, got me in St Mungo's for a week. What's your worst injury yet?" the older Auror asked.

"I got attacked by a hippogriff once. Needless to say, I came home carrying my arm." Alex said. Tonks laughed before Albus called the meeting to order.

"Well everyone, there was another DE raid last night, this time on the Weatherfalls. They were all killed." Albus said, somberly. Everyone sat in silence for a moment before the meeting continued.

"Severus, do you have any new information for us?" Albus asked.

"The DE have been practicing lately. That's what the Weatherfalls were. They were targeted because they are a little known wizarding family of mixed heritage that defied the Dark Lord. I was invited to go sporting Tuesday night." Severus reported before sitting down.

"Miss Granger, what do you have to report?" Albus asked.

"Albert Fletcher has abruptly changed his voting policies. He's starting voting under the influence of Lucius Malfoy. This puts him on the watch list, so be careful around Albert Fletcher." She reported before sitting.

"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Albus asked. No one said anything. Albus then adjourned the meeting. They quickly headed upstairs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to change into their school robes. Alex waited with Severus in the library. Before long, the three emerged, dressed in Hogwarts robes. It was difficult for Alex to see Hermione in school robes; she looked so different from the woman he spent his weekend with. They said there goodbyes and Alex Apparated back to Snape Manor as Harry, Ron, and Hermione flooed back to Hogwarts.

AN: Okay, that's Chapter 8. I know I usually post two chapters on Tuesdays, but I don't know if that will happen this week. We'll see. It looks as thought there are going to be 15 chapters to this story.


	9. Chapter 9

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All usual disclaimers apply

AN: As thrilling as it was to get so many reviews on Chapter 6, I felt let down by the lack of reviews on Chapter 7. I realize it was shorter, but it wasn't my shortest yet and it was/ is a transition chapter. Well, now that I've said that, on to a new week at Hogwarts.

Chapter 9

Sunday night, when Hermione entered the Room of Requirement for training with Harry and Ron, she felt bad. She had forgotten about the war going on and basked in the joy of her weekend. She hadn't even gone running once! She resolved to do a 6 mile run instead of the usual 5 miles as penance. The thought that people had been out there in the world dying while she had been playing made Hermione a little sick. She needed to concentrate. It was okay to have fun, just not at the expense of doing what she can to prepare for the war ahead.

It was Wednesday before Hermione got any mail from France. When she did, it was a large parchment roll that was dated the previous day. As she looked at it, Hermione realized that they'd probably taken Monday to prepare the items and Tuesday to mail them, so she didn't feel ignored at all. She had drawings from the three older children and a picture of a dragon colored by Morgan. Alex sent her a detailed pencil drawing of the two of them on the beach with a sleeping Morgan, staring deep into each other's eyes. The back said: _Joyce sent me copies of the photos she took. Yours are waiting here. Let me know if you want them sooner than this weekend.- Alex_

A photo fell out from the middle of the roll and Ginny Weasley grabbed it. She examined the picture while Hermione was engrossed in a letter from Alex. She didn't even bother trying to peer over her shoulder to read.

"Oh, is that mail from Alex? How exciting! I get to meet my future husband this weekend. If he's half as great as Alex sounds, this Marriage Law thing isn't so bad after all." Lavender said, squeezing in between Hermione and Ginny on the bench. Neither girl commented on Lavender's interruption.

"Hermione, who are all these kids?" Ginny asked, showing her the photo. Hermione looked up, perplexed, and snatched the photo from Ginny's hand.

"Oh, these are my soon to be nieces and nephews. Julia must have slipped this in with the drawings." she said. Picture Daisy waved. Picture Jordan smiled in the background, still as a Muggle photo. Picture Quinn tried to smile but was busy trying to hold on to a squirming Picture Morgan as they sat in a chair.

"They're so cute!" Lavender gushed.

"Thanks. They're all super sweet too. They drew me these pictures." Hermione said, gesturing to the short stack of parchment. They looked across the table at Ron and Harry, who were trying their best to look as though they didn't care.

"Well, aren't you going to tell us about them?" Harry asked, deciding to stop pretending.

"Let's see. The oldest one is Daisy. She's 10. She gave me this picture of me and my two nieces jumping on the bed in my room. The older boy is Jordan. He's 7. He's very shy and quite quiet, but he's a great helper. Jordan sent me this drawing of us healing Alex with a dragon in the background. Gosh, I hope he didn't show this to anyone. The little girl in the chair is Quinn. She's 5, and she's a little princess. She's angelic most of the time, very friendly and funny, but she can throw a temper tantrum like no one in this world." Hermione said, thinking of the way Quinn behaved when Alex told her that they were leaving the beach because of her behavior. "Quinn sent me this picture of Alex, her, and me looking at the stars. Morgan is the baby of the family. He's 2. He colored this picture of a dragon." Hermione finished, pointing to each child and proudly showing off their artwork.

"Oh Hermione, who did this? It looks so real!" Lavender asked in awe as she picked up Alex's drawing.

"Alex drew that from a photo taken Saturday when we took the kids to the beach." She responded.

"It's beautiful. So romantic in a quiet, everyday way." Lavender said. They all agreed. Hermione thought her choice of words to describe her relationship with Alex were perfect. _Quiet, everyday romance_, she scratched on the back of the photo. She wanted to remember that so that she could mention it to Alex sometime.

Aside from getting mail, Wednesday was one of the worst days of Hermione's young life. She had slept fitfully, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong, but her slumber was soothed by dreams of Alex. The down-side of this was that she awoke missing Alex terribly. In her opinion, Friday evening couldn't come soon enough.

She was summoned unexpectedly to the Headmaster's office right after breakfast. Hermione arrived to find Professor McGonagall, Severus, and Madam Pomfrey there as well. She looked frantically from Severus to the Headmaster, hoping for some clue as to why she was there. They both looked very serious. Madam Pomfrey's presence had assured her that the news wasn't good. It had become customary to have the medi-witch present since one girl had a fit so bad she had to be moved to St Mungo's when the Headmaster told her that her sickly grandmother had passed. With the war going on, the deaths had been coming far more regularly. Hermione's grandparents had already passed when she was younger, so she knew it was someone else. Hermione mentally steeled herself for the news as she sat in the only open chair. She bowed her head for a moment, said a little prayer, and crossed herself twice just to be sure, before she looked up at the Headmaster.

Severus was surprised at the way Hermione looked at the Headmaster. She obviously knew bad news was coming; the girl wasn't an idiot. She looked up at the Headmaster as though he was the executioner and her head had just been placed on the block.

"Miss Grang-…Hermione, I regret very much having to inform you that there was a Death Eater attack on your home last night. Your parents were killed." Albus said gravely. Hermione felt the blade come down and her world went blank. Severus leaped forward and pushed her back into the chair just as Hermione returned to consciousness. However prepared she was, wasn't prepared enough. She allowed a single tear to slip down her check before masking her grief with a wave of determination. Severus swore he'd never seen her look so bent on something before, and he wondered just what she was thinking. Hopefully, it wasn't her own demise.

"What of my sister?" Hermione asked shakily.

"Well, your sister is really a remarkable story. Did you know that your little sister is a witch, and a good one at that?" the Headmaster asked.

"No. I take it that she lives then?" Hermione asked, slightly cheered.

"Yes, she's resting in the Hospital Wing right now. She wasn't injured, just traumatized. When the Death Eaters entered your home, she was hiding in the closet. Apparently they were playing some sort of children's game." Albus said.

"Hide and go seek." Severus murmured, nodding. He had obviously, played the game many times.

"Anyway, when the Death Eaters surrounded your parents, Madeline Apparated away. She must have thought to go get you because she Apparated directly into Hogsmeade. Madam Rosmerta found her in the middle of the night, crying in the street. She took her in and it took until 5 o'clock this morning for her to figure out what the girl was crying about. Of course, she brought the little girl to me as soon as she knew. Some of the professors thought she should be here when you arrived, but I thought it would be better to let you have a moment with your grief before you see her." Albus finished. Hermione nodded solemnly.

"Hermione, dear, do you need more time? You should have a good cry before you go downstairs." Poppy said. The Headmaster looked at Hermione worried. Hermione heard his unvoiced question.

"Respectfully, Headmaster, I will mourn my parents when this war is over, my life is again my own, and I no longer fear for the safety of my friends and family. Now, if you will all excuse me, my sister has had to wait for me long enough." Hermione said firmly, leaving the room. Severus followed her out while the others remained for a moment, stunned by the change in the Head Girl.

"Rather like a zoo in there isn't it?" Severus said as he kept pace with Hermione.

"Yes, I don't know how they could expect someone to grieve in there if they could. That was too many people there." She said, heading to the Hospital Wing by the quickest way possible.

"Would you like me to tell Alex?" Severus asked.

"Please. I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it. I feel I'll have my hands full with my sister today anyway." Hermione said.

"I'll tell him, and I'm sure he'll want to talk to you later today, when he can. In the mean time, I can excuse you from all your classes today and offer you whatever I or the school can do to help you."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate it. Would you come meet her with me? Your family is the only family we have right now, and I think she should meet you." Hermione asked.

"I would be honored." Severus answered. They arrived at the Hospital Wing shortly. Hermione tore through it, calling for her sister. A little girl, one Severus noted as probably younger than Quinn, popped out and ran down the aisle. The two girls met in the middle of the aisle and stayed there, hugging and crying. The little girl suddenly jumped up and grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Come on Mione! Mummy and Daddy need help! Get your stick; we have to go!" she called, pulling Hermione. Hermione, resolutely, pulled the little girl back to her.

"Maddy, it's too late. The bad men got them, Maddy. Stay here; we're safe here." Hermione whispered, trying to pull the little girl back to her. Maddy resisted, turning on Hermione.

"You lie! I'll help them myself!" Maddy called, running out of the Hospital Wing. Severus ran after the little girl as Hermione dissolved on the floor.

"Madeline. Stop."Severus said, grabbing the little girl and swinging her up into his arms.

"Who are you? Take me home!" the little girl ordered, kicking and fighting. Students were beginning to leave their first classes.

'Oh great. Now everyone gets to see me fighting with a little girl.' Severus thought. The students seemed largely more surprised to see him with a child. They were surrounding him though. He could see that they were going to force him to drop Maddy, and she was going to run away. Just when the situation seemed impossible, Hermione popped through the crowd.

"Sissy! Stop him! He's trying to hurt me!" Maddy squealed.

'Oh great.' Severus thought.

"Hush, Maddy. He's not trying to hurt you. He's trying to keep you from running out and getting yourself hurt. Now, come with me. We need to talk." Hermione said forcefully. Severus set the girl down and Hermione took her hand firmly. She led the little girl away as Severus snuck down to his dungeons. The students stood there, confused.

Hermione took the little girl to her room and told her everything she could, as best she could. Maddy cried, as she was expected to, then she began clinging to Hermione. They went down to lunch and Hermione forced Maddy to sit beside her instead of on her lap. As soon as lunch was over, she made the little girl go make friends with her 'Uncle Severus'.

Hermione and Maddy were sitting in the Gryffindor common room that afternoon when Alex came in with Harry and Ron. Hermione got up and ran to him, Maddy hot on her heels.

"I came as soon as I could, Hermione. Are you okay?" he asked, holding her close.

"I'm fine. Maddy's doing better. Maddy, this is Alex, my fiancé." Hermione said, introducing her sister to him. Maddy came close and silently held up her hands to the tall man. He picked her up and she cuddled into his shoulder comfortably, still not saying anything.

"Well, come on and sit down. Can you stay for awhile?" Hermione asked.

"I can stay for the rest of today if you need me. I told Tonks I had a family emergency. She understood of course and gave me the rest of the day off on emergency leave. I stopped by the house and Julia gave me a package for you. Severus told her about your sister and she sent me with this box full of clothes and toys for her, along with the family's condolences." He said, settling onto the couch with Hermione sitting beside him and Maddy resting with her head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm surprised at how calm you've gotten her, just by being here. She was always a Daddy's girl, so I guess having a man around makes her more comfortable. Harry and Ron have tried sitting with her, but she knows they're just boys my age."

"That's one benefit of us, I suppose. She doesn't know me to know how old I am, and I'm well used to calming children. Quinn still cuddles up to me like this when she doesn't feel good. It aggravates Severus to no end that the children will come to me with their problems rather than him. It's just a side-effect of his having to be here most of the year though." Alex said. They spent the afternoon visiting. His presence made Hermione feel stronger, like she could do anything since Alex was there to help.

'Quiet, everyday romance.' She thought to herself as she lay in bed that night, long after Alex had gone.

AN: Okay everyone, there's chapter 9. Sorry it wasn't up at the usual speed. I hope you are all more pleased with this chapter. It's sad, I know, but it was necessary. I always think it's funny how easy it is to kill people in fanfiction. I'd be horrified if JK killed people as much as I do.


	10. Chapter 10: Lavender's Interlude

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers apply, you guys know the drill

AN: We've reached the point where my pre-written chapters are at an end. I've only got rough notes from here to the end, so you may see a longer delay in new chapters. They take a little longer when they aren't written in the first place. In my original plan though, there was another Hermione-Alex chapter before this one, but when I reworked the story, I decided this puts the story in the right tone for the rest of the war.

Chapter 10: Lavender's Interlude

In true form, Lavender Brown skipped her classes on Friday so that she could primp and prepare to meet her future husband. She figured that if someone as brainy and awkward as Hermione could catch a man as handsome as Alex Snape, then she, poised and lovely as she was, could do far beyond her wildest dreams.

Lavender spent hours getting her hair and make-up just right before changing into her nicest set of dress robes. Hermione approached her fiancé as a nervous Muggle; Lavender planned to meet hers as everything a Pureblood wizard could hope for in a mate.

When she was finished getting ready, Lavender gracefully took her small bag from her bed and headed down to the main entrance while looking as poised, graceful, and mature as she could. One of the horseless carriages was there to take her to meet the carriage of her new family at the front gate. Just because the loony old Headmaster wouldn't allow the MacDougall guest carriage to meet her at the door didn't mean she should have to diminish herself and dirty her robes and shoes by walking outdoors. After all, she was on the way to meet the love of her life.

The ornate MacDougall carriage rode steadily before stopping in front of a huge gothic estate- the MacDougall estate. The driver helped her out of the carriage and took her bag. Lavender walked up to the front door and composed herself quickly before knocking lightly at the door. Obviously, her fiancé was too involved in some important business matter to meet her at the door; Lavender decided that she didn't mind. A house elf opened the door, took her cloak, and led her to a room full of chairs.

"The Master will be here shortly, Miss. I'll inform him of your arrival." The elf stammered. She sat uncomfortably in one chair. She sat, ready and waiting for her knight it shining armor to take her away from the dark, damp, and dirty place and take her to a beautiful manor where they would really live. A few minutes later, a man approaching middle age stepped into the room

"Miss Brown?" he asked.

"Yes." She answered, surveying the man. He was a bit older than she would have preferred, but he wasn't all that bad. He looked healthy other than the signs of obvious stress. He wasn't entirely unattractive. Lavender decided that he would do.

"My name is Rudolphus MacDougall, and I am the Master in this house. How old are you?" he asked.

"18" she answered, fibbing slightly. She wouldn't really be 18 until May, but that was close enough.

"Well, you're far older than I had expected, but I suppose we'll have to make the best of it. Come; I'll take you to meet your betrothed." The man ordered. Lavender rose from her seat and followed him out the door. They walked through the house for some time before Rudolphus finally stopped at a door. He opened it quietly.

"Timothy? Your fiancée is here." He said. A boy on the bed whipped around. Rudolphus pushed her into the room and shut the door firmly.

"Come here." The boy ordered, sounding like a complete brat. Lavender reluctantly crossed the room. She gasped when she saw the boy on the bed. He was even younger than she had though.

"Timothy, how old are you?" Lavender asked curiously.

"10." He answered. "Now that I've indulged you, you must come and lay down with me, it's my nap time. Lavender looked disgusted.

"If you don't obey me, you'll have to be punished." He said gravely. Lavender hesitated before moving to sit on the bed.

"No no, dear wife. You must take off our fancy robes to get into this bed." He said, kicking her lightly.

"No, I refuse." She answered.

"Then I shall have to call father and have him lock you away until you learn." The boy taunted.

"You wouldn't. He wouldn't." she stammered. Rudolphus was strict, but not that strict. Surely he wouldn't lock her away for refusing to pacify his son.

"Do you care to test that?" the boy sneered, patting the bed beside him. Lavender looked at him carefully before turning away and removing her dress robes. She perched tensely on her side, facing away from Timothy.

"There now, I'm in the bed. Now go to sleep." She said tersely, planning to get up and redress as soon as she could be sure he was asleep. Suddenly, Lavender felt a small arm wrap around her and try to touch…..inappropriate places. She smacked his hand away.

"FATHER!"the boy yelled, as loud as she could.

"What is it Timothy? Are you enjoying your new toy?" Rudolphus asked from the door.

"No Father! She won't play." Timothy whined. "Put her in time out." He demanded. Rudolphus clenched his fists, grabbed her, and drug her down several flights of stairs into a dark, damp cell. He left her there.

"Let me out! I want to leave! You people are sick!"she yelled, as Rudolphus left.

"It will do you no good. You're stuck here until he decides to let you out. You'll be lucky if he remembers you're here." A quiet voice said. "I think he's all but forgotten about me."

"Who-who are you?" Lavender said, turning to see a pale young woman in the next cell with a threadbare blanket wrapped around her.

"Long ago, I was Madam MacDougall. Now, if I have a name at all, it's just Tabitha." She answered.

"You mean, you are Timothy's mother?" Lavender asked,

"'I'm sad to say that I did, child. Rudolphus and I disagreed about everything when it came to raising that child. One day, he just got fed up with it and left me down here. I've been here for 7 years now." She said, "He's forgotten about me, of that I'm sure. The house elves take care of me as best they can, but they can only sneak so much without his noticing. If you're lucky, you won't be stuck here as I have been."

"I'll get out. I'm only supposed to be here for the weekend. If I don't return, someone will come looking for me, and they know exactly where to find me." Lavender said, with guarded confidence.

"Consider yourself lucky then. I broke off all my relationships with people when I married Rudolphus. Anyone who has even noticed I'm missing probably just thinks I'm dead." She said, sadly.

"If I can, I'll get you out of here, Tabitha, I swear. You shouldn't have to be here, it's just not right." Lavender said.

"You're a sweet girl. It would be wonderful to be free from this cell, but don't you do anything for me that jeopardizes your own safety. I've been here for 7 years, I figure I can be here for longer than that." She said, lying down to rest. Lavender felt herself growing weary from being in the cell. She slept for some time. When she awoke, she heard the sound of a door banging open, somewhere nearby. Rudolphus came into the room. He opened the door to Lavender's cell with a key on the other side of the room and drug her back upstairs to Timothy's room. After two hours of lying in the boy's bed rigidly, Lavender grabbed her dress robes and snuck out. She crept hurriedly back to the room where the cells were. She had paid close attention when Rudolphus took her back to be sure she would know how to get back there to save Tabitha. She finally reached the room and unlocked the door. Tabitha was so excited when Lavender woke her up. The two crept back upstairs. Tabitha was helpful because she knew the safest way to the nearest fireplace. They Flooed out of the house using the grate in the kitchen. The two arrived in the Hogwarts Infirmary. They collapsed into two beds, resting quietly until Poppy Pomfrey found them the next morning. Lavender relayed her tale to the Headmaster, as did Tabitha, who turned out to be Tabitha MacDougall nee Weasley. Lavender thought that provided explanation for her dulled brassy hair. Albus offered them both a safe haven from the world. Tabitha Weasley was employed; Albus would decide what she could do later. Lavender would continuously fail her 7th year until the law had been appealed.

Lavender stood outside Saturday afternoon, looking up at the sky above Hogwarts.

"I vow that I will do everything in my power to see the end of this ridiculous marriage law so that no girl has to go through anything like that ever again. I vow to spend my life fighting until there are no more women like Tabitha Weasley left, imprisoned within their own houses." She yelled, shaking her fist at the sky to solidify the deal.

AN: That's Lavender's Interlude. That should make it up to you for killing two characters last chapter. I've added two secondary characters instead of two tertiary characters. Next chapter, we go back to Alex and Hermione and see how they passed the same weekend at Snape Manor.


	11. Chapter 11

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers

AN: Okay, I can assume by the lower number of reviews that you guys didn't like Chapter 10 very much. Well, that's okay; I just needed to work it in. We're back to Hermione and Alex in this chapter, which is the first one I'm writing from just a bulleted list of notes.

Chapter 11

By the next weekend, Hermione and Maddy were settled into a new routine. Maddy adjusted to the wizarding world with relative ease, thanks to Hermione's bedtime stories during the summer months. She still refused to converse with portraits and was wary of house elves, but she had no problems with other things. Dumbledore had installed a child-size bed in Hermione's bedroom specifically for Maddy's use. She had toys and clothes courtesy of Julia. Also, Hermione had been named Maddy's legal guardian, a tricky issue since she was of age but still a student. Hermione had wanted to name Alex Maddy's other guardian, but the Headmaster vetoed that idea, saying it would mean she'd have to share custody for now, which meant more upheaval for Maddy.

On Friday, Hermione was packing and preparing for the trip to Snape Manor. They were traveling in a different manor now, since they had Maddy and she wasn't legally allowed to Apparate, just like Hermione. It was too risky for Severus to Apparate with two passengers. Thus, they were taking a portkey directly into the house.

When they arrived, Hermione was swarmed with children while Maddy hid behind Hermione, under her robes. She didn't know what to make of these children and this new place.

"Aunt Hermione! You're back! We missed you so so so much!" Quinnie yelled, hugging Hermione. Daisy and Jordan greeted their father first before recognizing Hermione.

"Hermione, it's so good to see you again. How are you doing dear?" Julia said, going to Hermione.

"I'm well enough Julia. It's good to be back here, relax a little." Hermione said.

"Did you bring Madeline with you?" Julia asked, after giving her husband a long kiss.

"Yes, she's around here somewhere." Hermione said, looking all around her. She didn't see Maddy, but there was a strange clutching sensation on her right leg.

"Maddy, it's okay to come out. These are friendly people." Hermione said, reaching down in between her legs. Maddy resisted her, yelling when Hermione tried to pull her out. Fortunately, Alex took that moment to enter the room. He kissed Hermione lightly.

"What is everyone still doing in here?" Alex asked.

"We can't coax Madeline to come out and say hello. In the mean time, Hermione can't really move." Julia explained.

"Where is she hiding?" Alex asked. Hermione gently tapped her leg. Alex nodded in understanding and knelt down in front of Hermione. "Maddy, darling, do you remember me?" Alex said gently.

"Alex." a quite voice said simply.

"That's right. You're in my house right now. It's safe here too, just like it's safe at Hogwarts. You don't have to hide." Alex whispered. He held out his arms and Hermione was almost knocked over when Maddy ran out into Alex's arms. In one moment, Alex was standing beside her, holding her 4-year-old sister now charge, who was looking about while safe in Alex's arms.

They spend the afternoon acclimating Maddy to various parts of the house and watching her play with the other children. Once she calmed down a bit, Maddy was actually quite sociable. She sat beside Hermione at dinner, the magical chair pushing her up to the table. It was quite a nice change from watching her eat at Hogwarts, where she got antsy because she either had to kneel on the bench or sit in someone's lap to be able to eat.

After dinner, Severus sent all of the children off to play because he had to speak to the adults. Daisy led Morgan away while Jordan had decided to be responsible for Maddy. Quinnie trotted happily beside Maddy, singing a happily little song. She was glad to have a little playmate her own age, even if it was only for the weekend.

Once the children were safely out of sight and hearing range, Severus opened his mouth to speak.

"We're having a visitor for dinner tomorrow night. Certain….precautions…. will have to be made for his visit. We need to figure out what to do with the children." Severus said.

"Oh no, they can't be in the house. Last time Quinn could hardly keep quiet and Morgan nearly gave us away screaming. I can't do that again. They need to be somewhere truly safe from your boss." Julia said, mildly panicked.

"What if I take them back to school? I can keep everyone in my rooms safely for awhile, and no one would know we were there. The other students think I'm gone again this weekend, so no one would come knocking on my door. I have a floo connection in my living room as well." Hermione suggested.

"That's an excellent suggestion Hermione and probably the best thing to do, if you can manage it. It would only be for a day and probably the night while we cleaned up afterward." Severus said.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. The kids and I get along fine and there are some toys there already since Maddy's arrival. If I need more help I have three best friends that could help me and could be trusted to keep everything secret." Hermione explained.

"So it's settled then. Hermione will floo to Hogwarts with all the children tomorrow morning, leaving us the entire day to make this house into what it's expected to be. Alex will come in the evening to let you know that dinner is over, and he will spend the night in Hermione's living room to help her get through the night with five little ones. We'll send word when the house has been returned to normal and the children can return." Annick said, closing the issue.

They rose from the table to begin readying the children. Severus and Julia told the children that they would be spending the day at Hogwarts tomorrow with Hermione and Maddy, and they would be sleeping over. For the most part, the children were excited. Daisy and Jordan were pleased, but curious as to why. They were old enough to know that sleeping over somewhere else was not usual. Hermione communicated with Dumbledore through the Order's system. She told him the truth about what was going on. Dumbledore assured her that her secret would be kept and her rooms would be prepared for children visitors by the time they arrived. That night, Maddy slept with Quinn, allowing Hermione to lay awake in her own room, worrying for her little family. She and the children would be safely tucked away, but the rest of the family would be dining with the Dark Lord. She lay awake for hours, unable to sleep for all the worrying, so she did the only thing she could do to stop the worries.

Hermione let herself into Alex's study and knocked lightly on Alex's bedroom door. She wasn't sure whether she wanted him to hear her or not. Hermione was feeling slightly better by just being in Alex's study, and that made her feel silly for coming in the first place. She didn't have time to brood on that, because Alex did hear the tapping on the door and answered it.

"Hermione? What are you doing here? What's wrong?" Alex asked. Hermione stepped up to him and hugged him tightly, taking in his scent with every breath.

"I'm scared….about tomorrow. I just needed to see you- to make sure you were still here. It's silly; I'll go back to my room now." She whispered, turning away. Alex caught her by the wrist and pulled her back to him.

"It's not silly; I'm scared too." He whispered, hanging his head. That was all it took for Hermione to come back to their embrace. After a moment, Alex pulled her into the bedroom with him. "Stay with me tonight. I want to be sure I remember you and how much I love you tomorrow, when I come face to face with hate." He whispered. The young couple curled up together in Alex's bed, holding each other with the silent knowledge that this could be the only night that they could.

Alex woke up in the morning to a tickling in his nose. He looked down to see that Hermione's hair was attacking him. It was an incredible thing. He'd never noticed before that she had so much hair. He reached up to stroke it, waking Hermione in the process. Hermione noted the curious look on her fiancé's face when she woke.

"Alex, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just- I've never seen your hair do something like this before." He said, in awe. Hermione knew in an instant what had happened. The charms she used to control her hair had worn off during the night, because she hadn't refreshed them before she went to bed. She'd been too overcome with worry to think of something as trivial as her hair. She began to cry, afraid of what would happen now that Alex knew what she really looked like in the morning.

"Hermione, please don't cry. What's the matter?" Alex asked.

"It's silly. I didn't want you to see my hair. It's not my best quality." She said tearfully. Alex leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Actually, I rather like that you wake up with bushy hair." He said.

"You do?" she asked, terribly confused.

"Oh yes, I was beginning to think you were too perfect to be true. Ever since I've met you, Hermione, I've not seen you been unfocused for a moment. It's nice to see that you have something that you must control." Alex said. They both laughed, which the thought later was a great start to the day. They got out of bed to see that Forchette, the family house elf, had laid out clothing for Alex as well as bringing up one of Hermione's outfits.

"So, Alex, what's your character fault?" Hermione asked in jest, not really expecting him to tell her.

"I fall for people too quickly. That and I can't pick out my own clothes for the life of me. I always get it wrong, so I just started having Forchette lay clothing out for me." He said. "You see, Severus and I are both colorblind. That's why I think purple and orange look just fine together and Severus wears black all the time at school." He explained. Hermione thought that explained a lot.

Alex gave Hermione the bathroom to change and get ready in while he changed in his bedroom. Forchette had set aside stone wash jeans and a gray t-shirt, obviously anticipating the level of moving and un-cleaning that would occur. Hermione came out also wearing jeans and a t-shirt. After Alex took his turn in the bathroom, Hermione began to question him again.

"So what exactly are you all going to do all day while I'm amusing the children at Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Well, Lord Voldemort doesn't know that Severus has children, so we have to hide any evidence of the children. I imagine Severus and Julia are going to send you off with five children and a lot of family photos. We have to take all the extra dining room chairs to the dungeons. We have to be sure that there are no toys, no little socks, no popsicle sticks or anything that provides evidence of children in any of the rooms. We cover the children's rooms and playroom in a thick coat of dust. That's basically what we'll be doing all day." Alex explained. Hermione nodded. It made sense, but she hadn't thought of doing those things to prepare for the Dark Lord to descend upon the manor house.

After breakfast, the children strapped on their overnight packs and Hermione was handed a small box to take with her for safekeeping. She knew it was probably the photos that Alex had mentioned. Hermione went first through the floo while Severus, Julia, and Alex helped the children through on the other side. The Headmaster had indeed taken measures to ready the room. There were more toys around as well as games. There was a stack of cots piled in one corner of the room as well as a temporary crib for Morgan. The children passed the day quietly enough, while Hermione's worry grew as it came closer and closer to dinner time. Dobby brought them lunch and dinner, telling Hermione that the Headmaster had appointed Dobby to take care of their every need while in the castle.

Eventually, it came time to put the children to bed. Hermione knew that she herself would not be able to sleep until she knew that Alex was okay. She set up sleeping space in the bedroom for all the children. Maddy and Quinn were clamoring to sleep together again, so they slept in Maddy's bed. Hermione had given Daisy her own bed, which took some amount of convincing to get Daisy to take it. Morgan slept in his crib and Jordan pulled a cot into the same room. The children had started getting quieter as the evening wore on, no doubt sensing that something was off. They seemed much calmer when kept all together. Hermione needed have the strength of mind to separate them and deal with the consequences. As it was, the children were sleeping peacefully in her bedroom, while Hermione sat in her living room, pretending to read when she really just worried. Ginny popped in that evening. She had a sixth sense, much as her mother did, and somehow knew that Hermione was in her room wishing she wasn't all alone. Ginny sat with her friend silently, staring into the fireplace with her.

In the wee hours of the morning, the fireplace burned green and Alexander Snape stepped through. Hermione jumped into his arms before pushing him away and surveying him for injuries. He looked tired and….something else, but he bore no signs of physical injury. Hermione hugged him tightly again.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Hermione said.

"I am okay, but all is not well." Alex responded.

"What do you mean 'all is not well?'" Hermione answered.

"Sit down. There's much to tell." He said, pulling her onto the couch beside him. He looked warily at Ginny.

"It's okay. She's really asleep, and she's my best friend. If she were to hear anything, she can be trusted to keep it to herself." Hermione responded.

Alex ran a hand through his hair and sighed quietly. "We spent all day preparing, like I told you we would. When he finally got there, we thought everything was going to be okay. He sat down to dinner, at the head of the table obviously. When Forchette went to serve the soup, he was dissatisfied and cast the Cruciatis Curse on her. After dessert, when we thought we were all clear, he announced that he knew about Severus' spy activities. He called my brother a traitor and said he knew now why I didn't join his ranks, as my brother never truly had. He raised his want to kill Severus with Avada Kedavra, but….but Julia- but Julia ran at him. She- she got hit by the curse instead. Severus was so angry- so angry. He was terrifying. The Dark Lord must have thought so as well, because he called Severus a lucky bastard and left the house in a hurry. For a minute, we all just stood there, trying to figure out what had just happened. Severus was shaking with hatred and fury, while Julia lay dead in the floor. We tried to revive Julia, but nothing worked. She was hit too hard with the curse. We had to lock Severus in his room without his wand for the night. That's when Mother told me to come here and help you with the children. We might need to keep them here for a while longer. Mother is making plans, and Severus is by no means capable of caring for them right now." Alex said.

Hermione was shocked. She managed to nod. She got up and went to her personal medicine cabinet to retrieve a calming potion for Alex. He took it when she offered without comment. After Alex had been pushed toward the bathroom for a bath, Hermione woke Ginny.

"Hermione? Oh gosh, Mione, I must have fallen asleep. Are you okay?" Ginny asked.

"I'm doing better now that Alex is here. Thank you for all your help Ginny." Hermione responded. Ginny looked about her, clearly looking for a sign of this Alex. Except for a long robe hanging on the rack with all the tiny ones, there was no sign that anything had changed.

"Hermione, where is he? I want to make sure you're going to be okay." Ginny explained.

"He's in the bath right now, and we're going to try to sleep when he gets out. You'll probably see him tomorrow, along with the little ones." Hermione said as she herded Ginny out the door. Ginny allowed herself to be shepherded out of the room and into her own bed. When Hermione returned to her own room, Alex was coming out of the bathroom.

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering where you were." Alex said. "Do you think we should tell the kids tonight?" he asked.

"Not tonight. Let them sleep. We'll tell them after breakfast in the morning." She said. That way, they've got a good night's sleep and a good meal under their belts before we give them bad news." Hermione said. Alex smiled at her.

"I'm so glad you know how to deal with these things." Alex said. They each took a calming draught, pushed Hermione's two couches together and curled up in each other's arms. They woke a few hours later, slightly before the children woke and returned the room to rights. The children all slept in. Hermione wondered if some part of their subconscious knew what they would be facing today. By the time all the children were awake, clean, and dressed, it was peak breakfasting hours for Hogwarts during the weekend. Hermione wasn't looking forward to prancing into the Great Hall in front of everyone with Alex and 5 children. She wasn't a big fan of attracting attention like that, but the children were tired of being cooped up in the room, especially Maddy who had grown used to taking meals in the Great Hall. When everyone was ready, Hermione decided she couldn't put it off any more. She took up Maddy's and Quinn's hands; Alex picked up Morgan. Hermione cautioned them all to follow her steps exactly. There were a few trick steps in the staircases that they would have to avoid. They marched down to the Great Hall, only having to stop to free a stuck foot once- Daisy slipped into one of the trick steps. They caused no commotion when reaching the Great Hall. In fact, they stopped all commotion. Everyone stopped talking to watch them. The students and staff had grown used to seeing Hermione walk in with Maddy, but not Maddy and four other children plus a tall, dark, and handsome man. They hurried to the Gryffindor table and sat among Hermione's closest friends.

Hermione introduced them all around, and they all had a very pleasant meal. Before they got up to leave, Professor Dumbledore came up and asked Alex if he could have a word in his office. He found Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the children playing outside.

"Alex! What did the Headmaster have to say?" Hermione laughed as Quinnie clung to her waist.

"Well, he needed to be caught up on last night and our plans for the future. He asked me to take on Severus' teaching duties during his absence. He'd already cleared it with Tonks and my boss, so I guess I'm the new Potions professor. Severus left his lesson plans, so I doubt there will be a problem." Alex explained. They played for a while longer before they knew it was time to break the news to the children. They took everyone back into Hermione's rooms and broke the news to the children gently. It took the rest of the day before they felt that the kids understood and would be okay. They drew lots of pictures of Julia with the angels and Hermione hung them all around the room.

Annick and Charles showed up the next morning after breakfast and explained that they were leaving the country bound for Chile until after the war. They offered to take Maddy too, but Hermione declined, choosing not to uproot her sister again. The Snape's wanted to leave immediately, while they still could. They walked into Hermione's room to gather the children and came out with Morgan and Quinn. Apparently, Daisy and Jordan were not in the room. They didn't have time to look for the missing children and urged Hermione to send them along to Chile when they were found.

As soon as Annick and Charles left, Alex and Hermione dashed into Hermione's bedroom. Maddy sat in bed crying. Hermione went to comfort her through the loss of her friend. Alex called out to Daisy and Jordan, trying to draw them from their hiding place. Turns out, they were hiding underneath Hermione's bed, trying not to be sent away with their grandparents.

After a long conversation, Hermione decided to allow them to stay as they wished. They were old enough that they wanted to help fight the people who killed their mother and so many others. It was decided that they were to join Tabitha Weasley in training with Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. In the event of a battle near to Hogwarts, that was the safest place for them to be. Plus, there was always a need for more hands in the event of an emergency. Daisy and Jordan both knew a fair bit about Potions, so they would study healing potions from books during the day and practice making the potions with Alex during the evening.

The darkness was drawing nearer. It was now too close to be concerned with anything else. It was evident to all who knew what was going on that the battle would take place sooner rather than later, and it was likely to go down on the sloping fields of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, the only place Voldemort's fingers had been unable to touch.

AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been writing it in shifts as I go along.


	12. Chapter 12

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers apply

AN: Sorry for the long wait guys. I've been in a Harry Potter reading/ plotting frenzy. Anyway, I've got the next couple of bits and bobs I'll post all planned out. I've got a dumb little thing to post following this, and then I'm going to try my hand at Book 7, just because I can. Anyway, on with this story!

Chapter 12

Alex moved into the Potion's Master's quarters, which were expanded to make room for Jordan and Daisy. Alex brought over more of their personal possessions from the manor house- an attempt to make the cold rooms seem more like home. While he was gone, collecting them, Hermione led Daisy and Jordan in hanging all of the photos, paintings, and mementoes that were jammed inside the box Julia had sent with her. The kids seemed happier when they were busy, but they couldn't totally hide how upset they are. If anyone had any reason to be upset, it was Daisy and Jordan. The death of their mother still hung over their heads, as did the removal of their younger siblings and their father's continued absence. All Hermione could do was be there to hug them and hold them, and it was all she could do not to cry. Hanging the pictures helped Hermione to know about this magnificent example of a strong woman- this woman she barely had time to know.

Alex returned and resized all of his burdens in the children's bedrooms. While Daisy and Jordan were occupied with unpacking the belongings they'd sent Alex to retrieve, Alex told Hermione about his visit to the manor.

"His mind is slipping, Hermione. That is, it appears to be….when he actually speaks. Most of the time I was in the house, he simply followed me from room to room, not speaking at all. It was truly unnerving. When he did finally address me, he called me 'Father.' I don't know what to do, Hermione. I'm worried about him; he needs help. Help from family and people he trusts. I don't want to let him around Daisy and Jordan though. I'm afraid that would be too much for them to see their father so beaten." Alex said, tired.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do. Tonight, after Daisy and Jordan have gone to bed, I'll stay here with Maddy and watch over them. You will return to the manor house, collect your brother by any means necessary, and bring him to Hogwarts under the quiet privacy of night. Take him directly to the Hospital Wing. I'll arrange with Madam Pomfrey to have a private room ready for him. We'll be able to visit him as much as possible, and Poppy can keep watch over him when no one else is there. Maybe we can snap him out of it when he's no longer in that house. I'll put special charms on the room so that Daisy and Jordan won't notice it when they're studying healing down there."

"That might just work!" Alex said, hugging her.

"One more thing, ask Forchette to start packing up the estate because as soon as we can find someplace suitable, we're selling that house. It's got too many bad memories now to be of use for our little clan." Hermione finished. Alex looked shocked.

"Sell the manor! Hermione, I love you and I respect what you have to say, but that's out of the question!" Alex exclaimed.

"Alexander Snape, can you honestly tell me that you'll be able to eat at that same dining room table without dwelling on the place where Julia lay dead?" Hermione asked. Alex said nothing but shook his head. "You see, the manor has to go or the evil it holds will eat away at our family like a disease. Someone else can have it; someone who won't have our memories. Perhaps they can fill the house with cheer as we fill a different house. It will help the children to move on as well."

"Okay, you're right. Go talk to Poppy. I'll rest here for a bit and help the kids. It looks like it's going to be a long night." Alex said Hermione got up, kissed him quickly, and left the suite.

Late that night, the plan went off without a hitch. Severus was delivered, magically bound, silenced and floated into his private recovery room. It was so late at night that no students were in the corridors. Hermione and Maddy slept over downstairs as they would often do. Alex spent much of the evening and night with his brother. Fortunately, he didn't have any morning classes, so he could come back and sleep until lunch. Hermione brought the kids to breakfast and saw Daisy and Jordan to their lessons with Madam Pomfrey. After one class, Hermione and her friends had a break. She talked Harry, Ron, and Ginny into watching Maddy for her so that she could go pry her fiancé out of bed.

Hermione was amazed to find that Alex was already awake and brooding by the fire. She wrapped her arms around him as he stood there, drink in hand, seeming oblivious to Hermione's presence.

"I expected you to still be in bed." Hermione whispered.

"Surprise." Alex said bitterly.

"Alex, what's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's nothing." He said, shaking his head and resting his drink on the mantle.

"It is too something. Tell me." Hermione said.

"You wouldn't understand." he said, turning away.

"I understand more than you think. Try me." she said, crossing her arms.

"You don't understand! You can't understand! You're too different from me!" Alex yelled, storming about the room.

"Alexander Marlow Snape! Stop that this instant! You're acting like a child! Sit!" Hermione ordered. Yelling was out of character, for at least the Hermione he knew. Alex was shocked into obeying her. He plopped into one of the arm chairs while Hermione perched on the ottoman in front of it.

"You know I care about you, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Of course." He answered.

"Then why won't you talk to me? I want to help you, but I can't if you won't tell me what's going on." She reasoned gently, reaching out to take his hands.

"I'm scared, Hermione. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm such a good man that I'm terrified, manly isn't it? I'm scared for my brother, for you, and for all the children. I'm scared of the war of losing my loved ones, of dying. I'm terrified beyond all reason that we won't live long enough to be married. This war is killing me slowly because it's threatening all that I hold dear." Alex explained, putting his head in his hands.

"I know it's scary, but you can do it. Your love is what makes you able to do it. You're a strong and capable Auror." Hermione began.

"But you see, that's where you're wrong. I'm no good as an Auror. I get hurt nearly every day, and I had the lowest grades in my training group." He said.

"I think I can help you." Hermione said.

"Hermione, I hate to say it, but I think this is one problem you cannot solve." Alex mumbled.

"Well, hear me out anyway. I think that you could train with DA, or with just me, Harry, and Ron. We have a room that we learn combat and magical skills in. You can train with us at night, when the children are safely asleep." She said, holding his knees to the floor.

"You know, that just might work. I don't want to work with the DA obviously, that would compromise my abilities as a teacher. Training with you and your closest friends would work well. I might be able to help you all out there some too. I may not have done well on anything else, but I'm a very good swordsman. It's much the same theory when applied to magic."

"Yes, that would work well. Perhaps you could even come to a full DA meeting once or twice to teach us what you know?" Hermione said.

"Well, when do we start?" he asked.

"There's a full DA meeting tonight at 8. We'll practice at 11 in the room of requirement." Hermione said.

"11? That's after curfew. What if you get caught going back to your dormitory? I don't have the clout as a professor yet to truly keep all three of you out of trouble."

"Don't worry about it. You can walk through the corridors at any time, day or night, and we have our ways to get around unseen. Just be at the room of requirement at 11." Hermione said. "And now, you'd better hurry up and get dressed or you'll be late for class."

"That's one benefit of being a professor. Nobody gets to take any points off if I'm late for class." Alex laughed, putting on his robe and heading out the door. Hermione flopped onto the chair and took a moment to breathe deeply.

She didn't have a moment to spare, as the DA coin started to feel warm against her leg. She whipped it out and headed to the common room. Harry didn't generally change the coin in the middle of the day, lest anyone show surprise in class. She wanted to know what was going on, and tell them about Alex joining their training sessions.

She walked upstairs to find everyone gathered around a notice in the common room.

"What's going on?" she asked as Maddy wrapped her arms around Hermione's leg.

"Professor McGonagall just came in a posted this; they're sending everyone home tomorrow." Harry said. "I wanted to make absolutely sure that everyone saw about the meeting tonight."

"Alex is coming to train with us after the meeting. I could ask him to come to the meeting itself if you want." Hermione said.

"Perhaps you should do that. He may have some ideas about how to keep at least part of the group in the castle, ready to fight." Harry said.

"Okay, I'll speak to him after dinner." Hermione promised.

"The Order members are arriving too. I saw Tonks and Kingsley arrive a little while ago." Ron whispered.

"That's probably why they want us all out. We should invite Tonks to the meeting as well. She's worth as much as Alex is, and we can trust her to keep the meeting secret." Hermione suggested.

"Okay, I'll talk to Tonks, Hermione will ask Alex, and we'll have the meeting at 8." Harry said. They're discussion was over. They needed to get ready for class soon anyway.

After dinner, Harry went to talk to Tonks, working their way out of the Great Hall with a discussion about Quidditch. Hermione simply asked Alex if they could talk privately. They took Daisy, Jordan, and Maddy outside to run around while they chatted under a shade tree. Alex and Tonks both agreed to come to the meeting.

That night, Alex arrived at the meeting with Hermione. They weren't the first people into the room, but they were far from the last. This was the first time Alex got to see how large the DA was. There was a huge circle of chairs in the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together at one part. Alex took a seat next to Hermione. As students walked into the room and seated themselves, they all seemed perplexed to see Professor Snape there. No one said anything, however, until Tonks came into the room.

"Wotcher Harry!" she said, jubilantly, patting Harry on the back before taking the seat next to Alex, which the large crowd of students had been avoiding. "Ho Rook." She greeted.

"Ho Tonks. Good to see you again." Alex said honestly.

"Any idea what we're doing here, Rook?" Tonks asked.

"I've got an idea, but I'm not in charge, so it's not my place to say." Alex said. There was a moment's pause before Harry started the meeting.

"Okay everyone, I'm sure you can tell that this is a little different today. It may very well be our last meeting all together. I'm sure you've all seen the notice posted in the common rooms. Dumbledore is sending everyone home tomorrow. We are gathered here today to see what we might to do help. I've invited two of my most trusted Auror friends here today to help us figure something out. You all certainly should recognize Professor Snape. The woman beside him is Tonks. I hope you'll all listen to whatever suggestions they might have." Harry said.

"Well, whatever they do, we shouldn't leave. There are those of us who are trained well enough to help." Neville said.

"But at the same time, some of the younger ones aren't nearly trained well enough."

"If I could make a suggestion, perhaps only part of you should remain behind. The younger members can return home and help to protect their families if the conflict comes to that." Alex said.

"Yes, I think we should send home any and every member below the fourth year. That's what we've done for special groups. I have a feeling our special groups will be of most help, since we've each trained in a particular area." Harry said. The group seemed to trust his judgment.

"Now we have to figure out a way to get the adults to take us seriously." Ron said.

"That I can help you with." Tonks said. The group turned to see her more clearly. "Well, the first thing that keeps the adults from taking you seriously is your school uniforms. You'll have to wear something else tomorrow to build a good image. Past that, it will be based on your proving what you can do. Alex and I will do what we can, but we don't have enough power to keep you there- for that you'll have to convince Albus." Tonks stated, directing her comments to Harry.

"Organization wouldn't hurt either." Alex added.

"All right then. Everyone, fourth years and above may stay, but I'm not going to make you stay. Chances are that those who stay may see battle and be in danger. If you intend to stay, wear your DA uniform to the train station, hidden under a cloak or something. When the train leaves, we'll jump off, form up, and march back. Then, we'll behave as an army, and hope that they'll let us stay." Harry said. "Does that work with everyone?" he asked. The group made affirmative sounds. "Alright. Dismissed. I'll see you all tomorrow." Harry finished. The group herded out the door. Tonks followed them, heading back to her room. It was still before 9, so they could get back to their common rooms without any difficulty. Soon, only four of them remained in the room. Harry asked the room to become their training place. The four of them spent the rest of the evening training. When they were finished, Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped underneath the Invisibility cloak and followed Alex out the door.

The next afternoon, the DA joined the Order of Pheonix at Hogwarts to train for battle.

AN: Okay, that was a long four hours of work. Hope everyone is enjoying/ has enjoyed book 6. My story isn't going to change any because of what happened in sixth year.


	13. Chapter 13

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers apply.

AN: Sorry for the long wait guys. My Internet has been on-again-off-again lately, so I couldn't really use it during my usual times. Anyway, this chapter is another one I wrote by hands, given the circumstances.

Chapter 13

A week after the students left Hogwarts, the Army was officially ready. They all lived in the castle and trained in various places around the castle - including the forest. Dumbledore's plan was to draw the Dark Lord and his minions to Hogwarts, so it was vital that the army knew how to fight on any part of the Hogwarts campus. No one drew the line at the youngest warriors so much anymore, as every former DA member had proven him- or herself as a valuable soldier.

As Hermione led her aerial battalion in their daily jog, Lavender Brown ran up to the castle. She ran straight into the Headmaster's office, interrupting one in a never-ending series of meetings.

"Miss Brown, what is it now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just couldn't wait to tell you that the Ministry finally agreed to look into the Marriage Law again. Can you believe it! It didn't even take me one full year of prodding!" she exclaimed, trying to catch her breath.

"That's wonderful, Lavender. Perhaps you should share this with the others- maybe someone you don't have to interrupt." snapped an extremely weary Remus Lupin. It was nearly time for the full moon again, and Remus had been working almost all through the night of his transformation. Lavender recognized her cue to leave and bustled out of the office. She hurried down to the Hospital Wing to tell Tabitha.

Tabitha was expressing appropriate sentiments when Hermione jogged in straight from her run. She usually spent this time before lunch with Daisy and Jordan. Today, she was nursing a heavily blistered hand. Everyone in the Hospital Wing turned to look at Hermione when she sat down on one of the medical cots.

"Aunt Hermione, what happened?" Jordan asked, turning over her hand and looking at the cluster of blisters, a token of gratitude from her broomstick.

"It's nothing, just some blistering. I thought I'd let you and Daisy apply the soothing cream and wrap it up for me. It's not difficult." Hermione said. The children cleaned it, applied the soothing potion without difficulty, despite a hiss from Hermione and a half-hearted attempt to wrench her hand from Daisy's grasp.

Lavender, in one unpredictable moment of tact, refrained from mentioning her development in repealing the Marriage Law in front of Hermione and the older Snape children.

Maddy ran in and jumped up onto the cot beside Hermione as Daisy and Jordan wrapped her hand securely in clean, white bandages.

That afternoon, while the children were occupied with learning to make potions from Alex in the dungeons, Hermione took it upon herself to put Severus Snape through the gauntlet once again. It had taken Hermione and Alex a full week to get him to become a sane man attacked by grief and guilt. Usually, they tried being nice and gently prodding him in the right direction. Well, Hermione was fed up with being nice. He'd had a nice long vacation from reality, and now it was time for that plane to land. She was going to tell him the truth and hope that it would make him stronger, rather than break him.

She entered the room, gruffly shutting and locking the door behind her. "Good afternoon, Professor Snape." She began tersely. He looked up at her before focusing his eyes once more on the braided rug at his feet. "I suppose you've had a lovely vacation in here, escaping from everything, but I think it's high time for you to come back and take up your responsibilities once more. It's exhausting for poor Alex to cover your responsibilities as well as his own. Quite a lot has happened since you started hiding."

"If I recall correctly, Miss Granger, it was you and my dear brother who locked me in here. I'm not inclined, therefore, to pity either of you for having to pick up the slack." Severus sneered. Hermione slapped him soundly.

"Since I know you haven't been informed, I've decided to come here to tell you everything that has happened since Julia's death. Perhaps then you'll realize just how much we need you and how selfish you're being by staying in here. It's high time you get off your bloody arse and help out!" Hermione yelled. Snape seemed unphased by her attacks.

"I doubt that, Miss Granger. For, as you can tell, my principal purpose of supplying our friends with information has been compromised. I'm of little worth now, just cannon fodder. But by all means, tell me your little story. If nothing else, I could use the entertainment."

For every moment up until dinner, Hermione regaled her former professor with tales of the past few weeks. She told him about Alex, the children, the school, the Order, the DA, and the war. He seemed particularly enraged when Hermione told him of his parents coming and taking away Morgan and Quinn while Daisy and Jordan were hiding. With every sentence, Hermione became more and more convinced that telling him all of this was the right thing to do. Each sentence was a shot of life to him- a burst of anger for the greasy Potions Master. When she finally finished, Severus was standing up, looking much more like himself. She told him to get cleaned up and meet her outside the door because it was time to go to dinner. Tonight, Severus Snape would reenter the real world.

When Hermione and Severus entered the Great Hall for dinner that evening, they didn't attract as much attention as Hermione thought they would. Perhaps people just saw Hermione walk in with a tall, dark-haired man and assumed it was Alex. Alex, Daisy, and Jordan were already seated at a table with Harry, Ron, Tonks, and Maddy.

"I don't believe it!" Alex murmured, spotting his fiancée and his brother at the other end of the room. Daisy followed his gaze, gasped, and took off running across the hall. Jordan was right at her heels. Severus Snape, the cold Potions Master, stood in the middle of the hall, hugging his children. Albus got up from his table and welcomed Severus back.

After a moment, Hermione managed to drag the little family back over to the table. Maddy ate while sitting on Hermione's lap so that there was a chair available for her 'Uncle Sev'rus' right between Jordan and Daisy. The meal itself was conducted quietly, but there was a lot of love at the Snape table.

That evening, Severus decided that there should be some changes to the living arrangements in his suite. Hermione and Maddy moved downstairs permanently. Alex kept the master bedroom, but he now shared it with Hermione every night. Severus bunked with his son while Daisy opened her room to Maddy. It wasn't really a big change for anyone, since Hermione and Maddy had been sleeping over regularly since Alex and the children came to Hogwarts.

The next morning was Severus' first day of life in the army of the light. His family did everything they could to help him out, including building him a schedule. He did the morning training with the rest of the army, spent the late morning working on strategies with Albus, Remus, and occasionally Harry. In the afternoon, he took over Alex's job of teaching his children how to make some of the most common healing potions. They would be in Poppy's office during the actual battle, making all of the potions that Poppy and Tabitha would need most.

Hagrid stopped Hermione at the beginning of her afternoon session with her aerial team. She was prepping the equipment while her team set up the targets.

"Afternoon, 'ermione! I've got a presen' for ya!" Hagrid called. Hermione turned to see him leading a dozen Aethonon (see definition at end) out of the forest. The beautiful winged horses followed obediently.

"Oh Hagrid! They are beautiful!" she exclaimed, striding over to pet the lead horse on his nose.

"Yes they're beautiful an' dead useful too. I thought those might be better than those broomsticks. I thought abou' bringing ya some hippogriffs to use, but the bowing an' all that might be a bit impractical for the war. This lot is all just like Muggle Horses- 'cept for the wings of course." Hagrid said, chuckling slightly. Hermione examined the horses and saw that each one was equipped with a saddle and bridle. Hermione's team had finished setting up the targets, randomly scattering them through the battlefield, and had gathered around to see the Aethonon. Several other soldiers were watching as well.

Hermione looked at her group. She had mainly younger DA members, which was good because the immediately accepted her authority without question. They were chosen because they were light, fast, and comfortable flying. They were all trained to fire spells from the air as well as fire magical arrows. Many of the soldiers were still having trouble with the bow and arrow though, because it required two hands. They also couldn't move and shoot at the same time on their broomsticks. Hermione could see a real benefit in having winged horses.

"Okay team, these are Aethonon. We're going to try working with them today. Listen closely, we're going to fly over the battlefield once, turn smoothly over the forest and pass over the field again, firing arrows only. After one pass, we'll land on the far side and see how many kills we got. Understood?" Hermione explained. The group nodded in assent. "Good! Mount up!" she ordered, swinging herself into the saddle of the lead horse. Her team scrambled to grab their equipment and mount a horse. Hermione whistled and the horses took off toward the forbidden forest, rising into the air. As they came out of the turn and streaked through the sky, Hermione wrapped the reins around her wrist and readied her first arrow. After she fired, a volley of arrows followed from her team. Every arrow found its mark and every mark was hit. Best yet, they were too high in the air for the most malicious of spells to hit them. When they landed, Hermione saw that most of the army had turned to watch the team on horseback glide through the mid-afternoon sun. Hermione decided that the Aethonon would suit her team's needs quite well. She ended the practice instructing each team member to get to know her horse, even name it.

Lavender tracked down Hermione immediately after dinner that evening. She was out of breath again and excited. Alex continued on with Severus and three kids, leaving Hermione alone to hear what Lavender had to dish out. It was almost certainly not appropriate for the whole group to hear.

"Spill in Lavender; what's got you so excited?" Hermione asked, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible. She didn't much like taking time away from her family to indulge Lavender's gossipy instincts.

"I did it Hermione! I got that bloody law repealed! Now I don't have to fear that horrid little boy and his disgustingly doting father anymore!" Lavender explained, narrowly escaping squealing with glee.

"That's wonderful, Lavender! I'm so proud of you! You got yourself out of a sticky situation, saved Tabitha, and saved yourself from the Ministry all without doing a thing that wasn't perfectly legal." Hermione said, genuinely feeling happy for her former classmate.

"Yes, it feels good- not just for me either. It's wonderful to think that all those girls and women are free now. Why, you and Alex are no longer legally engaged to be married." Lavender explained, not even really looking at Hermione. The latter felt as though her heart had fallen into her stomach. She and Alex didn't have to marry, but she was looking forward to becoming Mrs. Alexander Snape as soon as the imminent threat had passed. Now would Alex even want to get married- now that he didn't have to? Hermione knew she was acting silly, but she couldn't help but be a little sad. With a heavy heart and an overflowing mind, Hermione Granger trudged gracelessly back t her quarters. She took a moment to compose herself- with some amount of difficulty- before opening the front door. She knew Daisy, Jordan, and Maddy would still be awake. Hopefully, just talking with the little ones would pull her out of this gloomy mood.

Sure enough, Hermione was able to push her troubles to the back of her mind. She could tell that Severus knew just from irrepressible Legilimency that she was upset about something. Hermione skillfully avoided meeting his gaze all evening. That night, when she and Alex were in bed and she was almost certain he was asleep, Hermione cried silent tears into her pillow.

Fortunately, Hermione didn't have to wait long to find out what Alex thought of Lavender's actions. The next morning, the abolition of the Marriage Law was the front headline of the Daily Prophet. Hermione found it ironic that the enactment of the Marriage Law was buried but the abolition of the aforementioned law was front page news. When Alex picked up the paper, Hermione stared fervently at her lap- afraid to see his reaction. She heard his chair scrape back. The next thing she knew, he was looking up at her from the floor.

"Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?" he asked.

"Of course." Hermione said happily, wrapping her arms around him as they both stood quickly. He seemed only slightly inclined to notice her lack of surprise and confusion. It isn't every day that your fiancé proposes.

"You knew about this already, didn't you?" Severus asked. Hermione nodded. "Is that what Miss Brown wanted to tell you last night?" She nodded again. Fortunately for her, Hermione's future bother-in-law let the conversation drop at that.

AN:

Aethonon: breed of winged horse, chestnut in color, lives mainly in Britain. (according to the Harry Potter Lexicon)


	14. Chapter 14

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers apply.

AN: This is the next to the last chapter of Marrying Snape; hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Chapter 14

Merely a week after Hermione and Alex reaffirmed their engagement, all the shit hit the fan. Dumbledore's plan worked; by having everyone that the Dark Lord wanted to see dead concentrated in one place, they drew the enemy to them and had the power to force his hand. They also had the high ground, literally and strategically. The Dark Lord was coming. The news of his plans came to the castle gift wrapped in the form of Draco Malfoy. Finally able to free himself from the Dark Lord, he eagerly pledged his undying allegiance to Albus Dumbledore and all that he stood for, denouncing his father and the beliefs of the Death Eaters.

Draco was led to Dumbledore's office by armed guard after he had surrendered his wand. Dumbledore welcomed him into the fold, returned his wand, and assigned him to a battalion. It was the Headmaster's belief that Draco would do best under the authority of someone he could trust. It was with this belief in mind that Draco was assigned to a group commanded by Alex and Severus Snape.

Sadly, Draco didn't have the time to learn the army lingo, despite Alex and Severus' extra training sessions for him. He was killed by a Death Eater when he failed to react to the correct order, mere minutes into the battle.

The battle raged on, sparks flying through clouds of black smoke. Half of Hermione's airborne unit was used to levitate wounded from the battle field and transport them to safety. The others kept flying passes over the field, attempting to clear some of the smoke and find an enemy to kill. Her only loss in the war was Tine Marpold, who lost control of her horse in the crossfire and fell into the battlefield. Her Aethonon was rounded up and tied on the roof of Hogwarts.

On the field, each soldier in the light army had a personal portkey that, if their personalized password was spoken, would transport them into the newly expanded infirmary.

Ginny Weasley, a former member of Hermione's crew who has wounded in an accident before the war, was working triage in the Hospital Wing. She sorted the arriving witches and wizards into the different sections of the infirmary turned field hospital. Poppy and Tabitha bustled around healing and/or stabilizing people left and right. Sometimes, other patients would help them. Daisy and Jordan were safely ensconced in a fully equipped potions lab off the Hospital Wing. They were both well-versed in common healing potions and general potions lab technique. The most frequently used Potions they had memorized, but they had a book of recipes for some of the more complicated ones. Dobby the house elf was with them. Harry had asked his elf friend to stay with the children, protecting them and performing any magic that they needed.

The battle raged ceaselessly for three days before one side was declared the victor, while the other suffered overwhelming defeat. There were devastating losses on both sides. Finally, as the sun set on the third day of battle, so did the sun set on the Dark Lord's life. The victory was mildly anti-climactic in a way. For three days, the Light army pushed diligently through the Death Eaters, Dementors, giants, and other creatures, all while protecting their own leaders and soldiers. When they finally reached the Dark Lord, it only took a short duel before the man was overwhelmed. After a strong Stupefy, he fell dead to the ground with a dull thud. For a moment, the remains of the Light army just stood there, surrounded by fallen enemy and comrades. There was no thrill of victory, just ramped disbelief. After a few seconds that seemed like hours of staring at the place where the Dark Lord fell, they began to exterminate the wounded and disabled Death Eaters while collecting their own wounded and dead. No one was taking any chances this time, they were going to be absolutely sure that no Death Eater walked away from the war.

Hermione Granger took some time after the battle to speak encouraging words to each of her fighters. Now that the rush of battle had passed, they all felt the need for a clean body, full belly, and warm bed. The house elves prepared a celebratory feast that evening, which the solders dug into more from the excitement of having real food for the first time in three days rather than thrill in their victory.

Hermione however, wasn't very hungry. She grabbed a sandwich off of a tray and headed back outside. Ministry officials had arrived on the scene moments earlier and were overseeing the efforts of volunteers to identify each Death Eater's corpse before tossing it unceremoniously into the growing bonfire. The deceased from the Light Army were lying neatly in a tent across the grounds. They would all be collected by their survivors and buried honorably in the next few days. That would not suit the Death Eaters. They were to be burned. Hermione stood there until they were finished, eating her sandwich and murmuring a quick prayer for each of the deceased. Evil or not, they were still people, sometimes just people who made bad choices. Her contact with the Snape family had at least taught her that nothing is black and white. Life is about negotiating through the gray area and trying to keep your ass clean. That night, Hogwarts would fall asleep with nearly one thousand burning bodies to be its nightlight.

As Hermione sat on the steps just outside the front doors, she attempted to wrap her mind around all that had happened in the last 6 months. It had been October when the Marriage Law was passed, and April when the war ended, for good this time. Hermione's thoughts were interrupted when a young war veteran tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miss Granger, you are needed in the Hospital Wing immediately." The soldier said before returning to the feast. Suddenly, Hermione realized that she hadn't seen Alex, Maddy, Severus, Daisy, or Jordan since the battle began. Needless to say, Hermione sprinted to the Hospital Wing.

When she arrived, only slightly out of breath, Tabitha Weasley directed her to a bed where a tall, dark man stood over another tall, dark man. Hermione flicked away the tears coming down her dirt-streaked face when she noticed that it was Severus lying in the hospital bed. He looked horrible.

"Hermione, Alex. I'm going to die soon." He whispered.

"Don't say that Severus. They're trying to make you well. Don't give up on us." Alex said. Severus held up a bony hand to silence him.

"No, listen. I don't have much time and there's something important I must ask you. When I die, I want you two to adopt the kids. Raise them as your own, but tell them about me and Julia sometimes. Don't tell them the bad things, just let them know that once upon a time they had another mother and father that loved them very much, and who died to keep them safe." He whispered. "Promise me."

"I promise." Hermione whispered, barely holding back her tears.

"I promise." Alex said. His eyes met Hermione's for the first time in days. They were both dirty and tired. Their robes were ruined from the blood of others and some of their own, as if they'd ever wear those robes again anyway. They both had deep dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep and a hazy look about them from the lack of good food. Poppy brought the children into the room just after Severus had made Hermione and Alex promise. They heard it all from their father just before he died. Hermione and Alex went with the children back down to their rooms. They got cleaned up and ready for bed, each of the children choosing to wear one of Severus' shirts. They all slept together in the master bedroom that night, because none of them wanted to be away from any of the others.

The next morning, Hermione and Alex were married in the Headmaster's office. Albus presided over the ceremony. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Kingsley, and Remus were the only guests. It was a quiet ceremony that was very low-key and impromptu.

To celebrate their first full day of marriage, Hermione and Alex took the children to the Ministry where they filed to adopt all of them, even Quinn and Morgan who were missing in action at the moment. Before they left, Alex took the adoption papers to magical law enforcement and began the search for Quinn and Morgan. It was easily enough determined that they were not in Chile. The Auror in charge was able to find documents confirming the deaths of Alex's parents and suggesting that they children were in an orphanage somewhere in South America. A month later, Alex and Hermione made the trip to the offices in South America to pick up their children.

So many deaths made Alex more than happy to sell Snape Manor- if for no reason than that it was vastly too large for their situation. Yes, there were a lot of children to put in bedrooms, but they didn't want so many little ones running around where it would be difficult for an adult to find them. They bought a suitable house in Hogsmeade and decorated it to their liking, using many items from the old house. In August, four months after the end of the war, the Snape family moved into their new home. Hermione and Alex stood on the front lawn as the children ran into the house, seeking out their bedrooms.

"Well, Mrs. Snape, is this what you hoped for? You're eighteen years old, with a twenty year old husband and five kids." Alex asked.

"Six kids, and no, it's better." Hermione answered, resting a hand on her stomach. Alex looked at her in disbelief, before laughing, kissing her deeply, and carrying her into their new home.

AN: I know I know. It looks like the end, but there's an epilogue coming.


	15. Epilogue

MARRYING SNAPE- mypseudonym

All the usual disclaimers apply

AN: This is it folks, the epilogue. Some have been crying for a sequel. I hadn't intended on writing one, but if enough people seem to want one, I'll give it a try. Review at the end of this chapter and tell me what you think.

Epilogue

WITCH WEEKLY Dec 30

WITCH WEEKLY'S WITCH OF THE YEAR AN EXAMPLE FOR WOMEN EVERYWHERE

By Joyce Roberts

This year's choice for Witch of the Year is a powerful young witch who overcame obstacles and is living an inspirational life. This year, we honor Professor Hermione Jane Granger Snape. Hermione Snape has been employed as a Charms professor at Hogwarts since the end of the war, nearly 10 years ago. She and her husband, Alex, the Potions Professor at Hogwarts, live in Hogsmeade with their nine children. That's right- Hermione is balancing a full-time job and a large family- and she's only 27 years old.

I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Snape once, about 11 years ago, when she was engaged to Alex. I admired her then, but now I feel inspired by her. Hermione and Alex were engaged under the short-lived Marriage Law. I happened to stumble across them on the beach on the weekend they were first introduced. Since that afternoon, not much has changed between the two of them. Hermione and Alex are as deeply in love today as they were on the beach, proof that not all bad came from the Marriage Law.

At the end of the war, Alex's brother and sister-in-law had passed away, as had Hermione's parents. All were casualties of the war. They adopted Hermione's younger sister and Alex's four nieces and nephews, whom they'd been caring for. In addition to that brood, Hermione and Alex have since had four children of their own. Once, Hermione led an aerial squad to help in the victory. Now, she leads an army at home.

It wasn't until I chatted with Hermione in her home that I remembered meeting her so many years ago. She had a house full of people, but Hermione herself was a little sphere of calm in the chaos. She lives with her husband Alex, 30; children Daisy, 20, a fashion student in university, Jordan, 17, Quinn, 15, Maddy, 14, and Morgan, 12, all at Hogwarts; Severus "Sev", 9, Janey, 5, Julie, 4, and Sawyer, 2. The family also has two cats, Quill and Ink, as well as a couple of owls. As you can no doubt imagine, the house is bursting with life. I asked Hermione if she had seen her life any differently. She responded, "When I was a girl, I always pictured myself in a research position somewhere, but here I am. I am raising my family and teaching young witches and wizards to use their gifts responsibly. This isn't where I thought I would be at 27, but I wouldn't trade it for the world." Hermione answered every one of my questions with honest and carefully worded responses.

I spent almost a full day with Hermione and her family, watching them interact and being guided through dozens of photo albums. I can tell you for sure that Hermione is very home and family-oriented. Hermione and Alex both claim it was their family that helped them the most in getting through all the rough patches the road of life has held for them.

It was mildly refreshing to me, in these days when so many children don't appreciate what they have, to see all 9 children being just as devoted to Hermione as she is to them. They all call her Mum, even the ones that aren't really her children. Most of them can scarcely remember a time before they were adopted and they moved into the big house in Hogsmeade. They five oldest have all had to have both their parents as teachers, which they assure me has been no problem. The younger ones were especially protective while we chatted in the study that she assured me was one of the less frequently used rooms of the house. Sawyer, the youngest, sat in her lap for the entire interview, eyeing me warily. Janey and Julie played board games in the floor. All of the children found frequent excuses to pass through the room or stop and listen for a bit. It was really rather touching.

I ended my time with Hermione Snape and her family by joining them for dinner, at Hermione's request, and observing their bedtime rituals. Dinner was a rowdy and chaotic affair, as can be expected. Surprisingly, there was only one conversation at the table at a time, but everyone chimed in and there was much laughter. After dinner, all of the children took baths and changed into nightclothes. Hermione and Alex were around to help the younger ones. As they finished, the children moved into the master bedroom, sitting on and around the bed and conversing quietly. I joined them at Janey's invitation, and sat comfortably with Julie in one of the two armchairs. When everyone was settled in, Alex began to read from a book on the bedside table. The Snape family reads novel together at bedtime every night. On this night, they were somewhere in the middle of The Jungle Book. The children were quickly mesmerized, and some of the younger ones fell asleep. While Alex and Daisy ushered the children into their cozy beds, Hermione walked me out to the front door. She thanked me for visiting them, saying she hoped I'd gotten what I needed for my article on blended families (my cover story), and invited me to join them again at my leisure.

Hermione Snape is an ordinary woman who does extraordinary things. She became a young mother in a recovering Wizarding world. She loves her family and encourages her children to pursue their diverse interests. She loves her work, balancing it carefully with her family. She's not Supermom or anything like that, but she adapts to what life throws at her and finds a way to thrive. That is why Witch Weekly is honoring Professor Hermione Jane Granger Snape as our Witch of the Year.

AN: Okay that's it. Let me know your final thoughts and whether or not you'd like to see a sequel. Also, check out my new story "Not a Stud, Not a Babe." As many of you may know, it's college move-in season, so if I start another new story, it won't be until things get settled down some. Thanks to all my readers. I'd say I write for me, which I do, but I post for you. If it were really just for me, I'd keep them all in my room or just run through them in my head.


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